To understand and engender new narratives on dignity, equity, inclusive democracy, and sustainability through the prism of caste, the JFP is curating several complementary fellowships with a particular focus on centering Dalit women. These collaboratively designed fellowships aim to identify and support talented and committed Dalit women as the next generation of storytellers and knowledge producers. Through these fellowships, JFP seeks to recognize Dalit women's love, joy, lived experiences, capabilities, and aspirations, while also challenging and supporting them to engage with works—textual and non-textual—on caste, race, and Indigenous peoples globally.
Given the complex and layered nature of caste as a social system with historical and contemporary manifestations, the fellowships are designed to encourage engagement with a wide range of interdisciplinary materials – textual and non-textual such as songs, images, folklores, scholarly articles in collaboration with practitioners, thinkers, scholars, and leaders worldwide.
Fellowships:
Just Futures Fellowship (JFF):The Just
Just Futures Pahal Fellowship (JFPF): This 18-month fellowship is for community-based Dalit women between the ages of 20-40. In addition to the 16 inaugural JFP Fellows from Madhesh Province, JFP will announce the second cohort of Fellows from Bagmati Province in mid-2025.
To understand and engender new narratives on dignity, equity, inclusive democracy, and sustainability through the prism of caste, the JFP is curating several complementary fellowships with a particular focus on centering Dalit women. These collaboratively designed fellowships aim to identify and support talented and committed Dalit women as the next generation of storytellers and knowledge producers. Through these fellowships, JFP seeks to recognize Dalit women's love, joy, lived experiences, capabilities, and aspirations, while also challenging and supporting them to engage with works—textual and non-textual—on caste, race, and Indigenous peoples globally.
Given the complex and layered nature of caste as a social system with historical and contemporary manifestations, the fellowships are designed to encourage engagement with a wide range of interdisciplinary materials – textual and non-textual such as songs, images, folklores, scholarly articles in collaboration with practitioners, thinkers, scholars, and leaders worldwide.
Fellowships:
Just Futures Fellowship (JFF): The Just Futures Fellowship – 2025 includes seven Dalit women between the ages of 20 and 40 from Bagmati Province. Their participation in this fellowship will allow them to explore their lived experiences, learning, and forms of expression. Over 12 months, they will get to reflect deeply on their personal journeys and work alongside other talented Dalit women from different caste backgrounds, including Newari Dalit women. Together, they will engage in critical conversations on caste, class, gender, and sexuality, while also creating work inspired by their own lived experiences.
Just Futures Pahal Fellowship (JFPF): This 18-month fellowship is for community-based Dalit women between the ages of 20-40. In addition to the 16 inaugural JFP Fellows from Madhesh Province, JFP will announce the second cohort of Fellows from Bagmati Province in mid-2025.
Dāmal Fellowship (DF): This nine-month intensive national-level fellowship aims to support Dalit women with deeper exposure to and engagement with caste-related issues, with a particular focus on bringing intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and global perspectives. JFP faculty members will serve as both resource persons and students of Caste, Class, Gender, and Sexuality (CCGS) alongside the Damal Fellows.
Darnal Award for Social Justice Leaders: Building on past and new talented awardees and finalists of the Darnal Award for Social Justice, JFP aims to engage with dynamic individuals, institutions, and movements engaged with caste-related issues globally.
JFP Graduate Fellowships: Up to two fellowships are awarded annually to Dalit students of all genders who have completed at least one semester of coursework in any Master's degree program at Tribhuvan University. Recipients will receive a grant to strengthen or initiate deeper engagement with caste-related research.
Scholars in Residence: JFP engages distinguished scholars and practitioners from around the world to advance our understanding of the relationships involving caste, class, gender, and sexuality.
JFP is pleased to welcome Professor Tri Ratna Manandhar, a reputed historian and one of the authors of Crime and Punishment in Nepal: A Historical Perspective, as our inaugural Scholar in Residence.