... Dalit women continue to languish on the fringes, trapped as they find themselves in the double bind of gender and caste. Their low status within the family as also within the caste structure renders them vulnerable to exploitation from dual quarters, forcing upon them a greater share of the physical and mental violence perpetrated on their caste in general. With the literacy rate among Dalit women woefully low, they are doomed to settle for traditional vocations like piggery and sheep rearing. They are sexually assaulted for marrying out of their caste; they are routinely raped or paraded naked by upper caste men who seek to "settle" land and other disputes through such barbaric acts; they are forced to work without wages; they are reminded of their lower status in the caste hierarchy by none other than upper caste women who deny them even drinking water at the village well ... Dalit women continue to bear the severest brunt of untouchability ... Delayed trials in cases of rape have denied justice to countless Dalit women, compounded by the fact that the police at times refuses to register cases of atrocities in the first place ...