are dominated by male members of other castes. Dalit women often act as representatives for their male husbands or male relatives, Studies have shown that reservations for Dalit women are dominated mostly by women representatives from general castes. High level of economic deprivation has forced most Dalit women to work outside the home to sustain the family, giving them less time to perform their political mandate as Dalit Women Elected Representatives (DWERs). Due to 'low' social status and poor education levels, many Dalit women representatives lack information, negotiating skills and self-confidence as compared with other elected representatives, especially dominant caste men. Therefore, we urge the UN Forum to: 1. Take up the issue of Dalit women's effective participation in governance as a focus policy area by commissioning studies through the Special Procedure on Violence against Women, on the effectiveness of and problems faced by Dalit women in local governance and foster dialogue and debate on this issue in the United Nations.