By Matters India Reporter
Patna: The Capuchins of St. Francis Assisi will award Nari Gunjan (women’s echo) for empowering Dalit women of Bihar state in eastern India.
Notre Dame Sister Sudha Varghese, secretary of the organization, told Matters India that she would receive the award at a function at Angamaly in Kerala on February 4.
Sr. Sudha has been working with lower-caste Dalit women of Bihar for several decades.
Dalits are on the bottom rung of India’s social hierarchy and were once barred from public places including temples and water taps frequented by higher-caste Hindus.
Despite a ban on caste-based discrimination in 1955, centuries-old biases persist against Dalits, once called “untouchables.”
Sr Sudha is a recipient of the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.