Education for Peace: The Role of Marginalized Women in Fostering Conflict Resolution and Social Change

This paper will attempt to understand how women, particularly women from the marginalized groups (Dalit Women), can act as agents of change in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. The study will attempt to emphasize on their transformative role in educational spaces. Considering Althusser’s and Marx’s concept, the study will examine how curriculum functions as a form of cultural capital, perpetuating ideological hegemony and social inequalities, including gender and caste. The study will also analyze the dictum that ruling class will give its ideas the form of universality and represent them as the only rational universally valid ones. The paper will argue that the exclusion of Dalit feminist perspectives from India’s national curriculum highlight the marginalization of Dalit women, whose experiences and contributions remain absent in educational discourse. By using gender and caste as analytical categories, this study will critique the exclusionary practices embedded in the curriculum, arguing that education is a social construct shaped by dominant cultural forces. Using ideas of Apple, Bourdieu, Bernstein, Bowles, and Gintis, the paper would advocate for reimagining pedagogies through Phule-Ambedkarite feminist frameworks. These alternative perspectives emphasize the need for inclusive educational curriculum that reflects the lived experiences of marginalized/Dalit women. Such an approach can foster critical thinking, challenge hegemonic narratives, and promote values of equality and social justice within educational institutions. The paper would thus argue that by addressing these exclusionary practices, women form marginalized groups can play a pivotal role in conflict resolution and social transformation, paving the way for a more just and peaceful society. Thus, the paper will reflect how an inclusive education system, that values diversity, is not only a tool for mitigating social conflict but also a crucial element in achieving gender and caste based justice in India.