Abirami Jotheeswaran

Abirami Jotheeswaran is a Dalit women’s rights activist and lawyer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She has been a member of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) since 2005. She played a key role in advocating for the amendment of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, leading to its 2015 update, which mandates quicker trials to prevent atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis.

Currently, she is the General Secretary of the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM-NCDHR), focusing on empowering young Dalit women to fight caste and gender-based violence. Under her leadership, AIDMAM released the “Dalit Women Rise for Justice” report in 2021, pushing for stronger enforcement of laws protecting Dalit women.

She also advocates globally, representing Dalit women’s issues at forums like the United Nations and the European Union.