Divya Kandukuri

Divya Kandukuri is an Ambedkarite feminist activist, trainer, writer and development professional. She is the founder of The Blue Dawn, a mental health collective that upholds anti-caste and feminist politics in its functioning. The Blue Dawn has been working on bringing discussions on caste and mental health to the forefront of India’s mental health discourse through its social justice lens towards mental health. Divya has also been a trainer for The Blue Dawn and works with social workers, media professionals, and mental health professionals to equip them with tools to incorporate discussions on the caste system, feminism and social justice into their practices. 

In addition to her work with The Blue Dawn, she is an independent media practitioner and writer, who has been using digital media technologies to advocate for human rights of women, queer, and caste oppressed communities in India under the handle @anticastecat. Drawing from her lived experiences as an inter-caste, inter-faith individual, she focuses on inter-relations of caste, gender, pop culture, and mental health. 

Previously, Divya also worked as Research and Program Coordinator at Zubaan, a feminist publication house and an active archiver of feminist and women’s movements in South Asia. Her role involved working with Zubaan Projects, which works with a particular focus on historically marginalised and oppressed groups.  

She has also worked extensively with the grassroots women’s movements like Bebaak Collective, and contributed to various Dalit rights organisations across India.