• Ashwini K.P., 36, is the first Asian to be appointed as Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
  • She says her own personal experience as a Dalit woman has helped her understand how gender or caste affects an individual or community in terms of access to opportunities or education because of racism or xenophobia.
  • Ashwini is interested in intersectionality, particularly in the context of gender, and is keen on focussing on how racism, xenophobia and other related intolerances affect women within marginalised communities and the LGBTQ communities.
  • She is also keen to address both caste and race issues on an equal footing on a global platform.
  • She feels that it is not necessary for everyone to have a pure academic and theoretical understanding of Ambedkar, that there are sections of people who have to understand Ambedkarite philosophy in terms of gender.