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    Witch-Hunting: Alive and Kicking: The Legacy of Violence Against Women

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    Witch-hunting continues to be a problem in parts of India where lack of development and education fuel superstitious beliefs. Women, especially Dalits and Adivasis, are often targeted and subjected to brutal torture and killings if accused of being witches. Several states have laws against witch-hunting but they have proven ineffective with crimes continuing to rise. Stricter enforcement of laws along with public awareness campaigns and support for survivors are needed to curb this violent practice.

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    Witch-Hunting: Alive and Kicking: The Legacy of Violence Against Women

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    Witch-hunting continues to be a problem in parts of India where lack of development and education fuel superstitious beliefs. Women, especially Dalits and Adivasis, are often targeted and subjected to brutal torture and killings if accused of being witches. Several states have laws against witch-hunting but they have proven ineffective with crimes continuing to rise. Stricter enforcement of laws along with public awareness campaigns and support for survivors are needed to curb this violent practice.

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    Witch-hunting continues to be a problem in parts of India where lack of development and education fuel superstitious beliefs. Women, especially Dalits and Adivasis, are often targeted and subjected to brutal torture and killings if accused of being witches. Several states have laws against witch-hunting but they have proven ineffective with crimes continuing to rise. Stricter enforcement of laws along with public awareness campaigns and support for survivors are needed to curb this violent practice.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    34 views13 pages

    Witch-Hunting: Alive and Kicking: The Legacy of Violence Against Women

    Uploaded by

    devil_pussy
    Witch-hunting continues to be a problem in parts of India where lack of development and education fuel superstitious beliefs. Women, especially Dalits and Adivasis, are often targeted and subjected to brutal torture and killings if accused of being witches. Several states have laws against witch-hunting but they have proven ineffective with crimes continuing to rise. Stricter enforcement of laws along with public awareness campaigns and support for survivors are needed to curb this violent practice.

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    of 13

    Witch- hunting: Alive and Kicking

    The legacy of violence against


    women
    Some Shocking incidents.
    On March 11,2010 , a dalit couple was killed in
    Jorapur village in Palamu district. Three people
    who had their faces covered bragged into their
    house at night and took the couple away. Later
    their bodies were found about 33 km away
    from their house.
    On 20 August 2010, a dalit woman was brutally
    thrashed after dragging her to a tree and tying
    her.
    Introduction
    • Witch-hunting is a infectious disease and is slowly
    spreading to newer areas. The practice of witch-
    hunting/killing is present in the number of states in
    the country. It generally happens where there is no
    economic development, no access to basic health
    care and education. In this kind of atmosphere
    people tend to develop superstitious beliefs and
    anything bad that might befall on the villagers like
    bad crop, diseases, sudden death tend to be
    considered as the work of ‘witch’.
    Is this justified?
    • It is women, especially dalit or adivasi, who are
    branded as witches. The accused women are
    subjected to both physical and mental torture. The
    result is either flee or be subject to humiliation,
    torture and death by the hands of the villagers.
    These helpless women are hounded and punished
    by being stripped naked, paraded, hairs burnt, faces
    blackened, noses cut off, teeth pulled out, forced to
    eat human excreta, all this in open places and finally
    they are made to lose their mental balance.
    Statistics on witch-hunting crimes

    State 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

    Jharkhand 52 50 29 26 26 19 26 21

    Chhattisgarh 15 8 10 9 11 9 4 14

    Orissa 23 28 36 25 22 26 39 30

    Andhra Pradesh 23 33 26 75 24 37 23 20

    West Bengal 4 0 1 5 8 9 14 13

    Madhya 17 14 13 13 14 26 24 13
    Pradesh
    Superstition not he only reason
    Other reasons.
    • Rob women of her property.
    • Easy way to break a strong woman to call her
    witch and punish her.
    • Helps to preserve caste
    structures(chastisement reserved for
    individual woman applies to entire caste).
    The Specialists in this diagnosis
    • Ojahas or witch doctors
    Toothless laws/bills/acts
    • Bihar – The prevention of witch practices Act
    1999.
    • Jharkhand – Anti witch craft act.2001.
    • Chhattisgarh – Tonhi Pratarna Bill 2005.
    (Prevention of Atrocities on women in the
    name of Tonhi)
    • Rajasthan – Anti witch craft Bill. 2006.
    Punishments
    Section 3: Identification of witch
    • Whoever identifies any person as
    Witch(Daain) and does any act towards
    identification either by words, actions, or
    manner shall be punished with imprisonment
    for a term which may extend to 3 months or
    with fine of Rs.1000 or both.
    Section 4 : Damages/Causing harm
    • Any person who causes any kind of physical or
    mental torture to any person by identifying
    her as witch whether deliberately or
    otherwise shall be punished with
    imprisonment for a term of 6 months or a fine
    of Rs.2000. or both.
    Section ; 6 Witch curing
    • Whoever does any act of so healing allegedly
    or purportedly and of curing any woman said
    to be witch by doing any kind of ‘jhadphook’
    and thereby causing any type of physical or
    mental harm or torture shall be punished with
    imprisonment of 1 year with a fine of Rs. 2000
    or both.
    Toothless laws.
    • In reality these laws have prove unable to provide
    for effective preventive, curative, or punitive
    measures for women who have been labeled as
    witches. The crimes are increasing. There are no
    steps for the effective implementation by the
    government. Some cases the FIRs are not
    registered at all due to social pressure. There are
    no provisions for providing rehabilitation, relief or
    compensation for these women.
    Suggestions
    • Strict enforcement of the law.
    • Sensitization of police and welfare departments and NGO
    for prevention.
    • Launching campaigns against superstition.
    • Organizing women groups
    • Setting up a special cell. At state and district level.
    • Identification of women survivors and their
    rehabilitation.
    • Introduce the subject in school text books- for
    awareness.

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