WUNRN
By Tripti Nath
Shamimabad village, Jharkhand (Women’s Feature Service) - The easiest way to grab a woman’s property in rural Jharkhand is to brand her a witch. Unbelievable but horrifically true in 21st century India, tribal women in the interiors of states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Orissa are beaten, paraded naked, disgraced, ostracised and then robbed of their land by anti social elements and sometimes even greedy relatives.
The
frequency of such assaults and the dismal conviction rate, despite the
existence of the Prevention of Witch Practices Act, has terrified victims into
a silent acceptance of the cruelty.
Although
offences under the Jharkhand’s Prevention of Witch Practices Act are cognisable
and non bailable, the punishment is not stringent and the Act is seen as a
legislation without teeth. For all the torture that a woman suffers on being
branded a ‘dayan’ (witch), the Act recommends imprisonment for a term that may
extend to three months or a fine of Rs 1,000 (US$1 = Rs 45.6) or both for the
wrongdoer.
Furthermore, any person who exploits a woman on the suspicion that she is a witch can be punished under the legislation with imprisonment for a term that may extend to six months or Rs 2,000 fine or both. If any person instigates anybody to brand a woman a witch, he can be imprisoned for a period of three months, fined Rs 1,000 or both.
However,
the conviction rate for witch hunting crimes is dismal. The perpetrators, in
most cases, are male relatives and their motive is to usurp the property of
single women. The modus operandi is to disgrace and ostracise the victim.
Statistics
on witch-hunting crimes compiled by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) are
a cause of concern. The NCRB reported that in 2007, 177 cases of
witchcraft-related murders were reported from the above mentioned states.
Jharkhand had the dubious distinction of reporting 50 witchcraft- related
murders, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 33; Haryana at 30; Orissa with
28; Madhya Pradesh with 14, Chhattisgarh with 8 and Gujarat with only one
reported case.
The
Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a Dehradun-based voluntary organisation
committed to putting an end to witch hunting crimes, has reported that such
crimes are on the rise in tribal-dominated villages. Witch-hunting is common
among the Santhal, Ho, Munda, Oraon and Kharia tribes in the state.
"My
tour of Jharkhand has convinced me that women living in Deoghar, Dumka, Goda
and Hazaribagh are most vulnerable to false accusations of witch-hunting.
Almost every ten days, a woman is branded a witch or victimised for
witch-hunting in these districts,” elaborates Deepak Kumar Deo, a legal trainer
with RLEK.
Savita
Singh, also of RLEK, confirms that Dumka and Deoghar, within 400 kilometres of
state capital
Experts
believe that the frequency of such crimes in Jharkhand explains why victims and
their families are terrified and continue to suffer in silence; and also why
volunteers find it difficult to reach out. It was, thus, after plenty of
persuasion that volunteers and legal trainers of RLEK were able to make victims
in Jharkhand and their family members come forward to narrate their woes before
judges of the Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court at a three-day
State-level congregation of women with higher judiciary, held in Itki village
near Ranchi recently. The event was organised by RLEK with the support of the
National Legal Services Authority and the Jharkhand State Legal Services
Authority.
RLEK
presented the case of Pinky Khaka, 15, whose mother was branded a witch and
killed. The assailants also killed her father and sister. Pinky who belongs to
the Oraon tribe, recalls the day when three youth came to her house in Sudag
village, barely six kilometres from
RLEK
coordinator Meera Mishra, who has been monitoring police action on the Khaka
case, says that the accused are yet to be arrested. A case of murder was
registered in Namkom police station of Tupudana village. A social worker with
the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority, Meera says that Pinky and her younger
brother fear for their lives and have left the village. They are living with a
relative in Champa Toli in Tupudana village.
Kaleem
Ansari, a rickshaw-puller, recalls with horror the day his 70-year-old mother,
Gulenoor Beewi was beaten up; while his 80-year-old aunt, Sagiran Beewi and his
brother’s middle-aged wife, Sakeena, were stripped and paraded outside their
home in Pattharghatia village. A shocked Kaleem elaborates, “A group of persons
from my community broke our door, pulled my aunt and sister-in-law by the hair
and stripped them. My mother was also beaten up. When I intervened, I was
beaten with a broom.”
The
same group attacked Sushila Devi, a 60-year-old woman, who was defenceless
because of a disability in her hand. Sushila fears that she may be attacked
again. She was paraded naked and forced to drink urine. She lives all by
herself, having lost her potter husband five years back. She has no means of
income to support herself or her 14-year-old son. Showing her left hand with
missing fingers, Sushila Devi says that she has been compelled to beg for a
living.
According
to RLEK, 14 accused were arrested but released on bail. Chameli Devi from
Hazaribagh said that a group of ten persons forced their way into her house in
December last year and beat her up till she fell unconscious. Chameli Devi, who
has five children, said that they called her a ‘Bhoot’ (ghost). Oddly enough,
she claims the hospital refused to give her any aid.
Sudha
Chaudhary, Jharkhand’s new minister for Women and Child Development, is
determined to take urgent measures to prevent witch-hunting crimes. She says,
“I want to launch an awareness campaign to empower women. I will discuss the
issue of witch-hunting crimes with officers in my ministry. It is important to
educate women to tell them that they should shed superstitious beliefs.” One
only hopes that the men are not deprived of such an education.
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