When my son ran away with a woman who was about to marry another man, he assaulted me and told me to “tell him where I am.”
Even though similar incidents are repeated, the punishment is weak and continues uninterrupted.
Human rights activists say, “It doesn’t deter crime and only harms women… a mockery of justice.”
On the 11th, a 42-year-old woman named Sasikala (pseudonym) ran away with her 18-year-old girlfriend, who was being pressured by her 24-year-old son to marry another man, in Hosa Banthamuri village, Belagavi district, Karnataka, southern India. For this reason, an incident occurred after 1 a.m. in which he was dragged out by village residents, stripped naked, forced to march through the village, tied to a telephone pole, and beaten. The family of the woman who ran away and village residents continued to beat Sasikala indiscriminately for over three hours until the police arrived at 4 a.m., demanding to know the whereabouts of her man and woman who ran away.
More than a dozen people were arrested and one local police officer was suspended for “dereliction of duty.” The BBC reported that the incident involving the woman, known as Sasikala (pseudonym), has caused outrage in Indian society, but such incidents are familiar to the Indian public and legal experts and gender equality activists say Indian laws are still atrocious against women. They said they are lamenting that they are not prepared to deal with outrageous crimes.
According to the Indian Penal Code, the punishment for those who commit such crimes is only 3 to 7 years in prison. The sentence is very inadequate compared to the nature of the crime. An activist named Sukriti Chohan said, “India’s penal code does not deter crime and harms women. Punishments must be strengthened. “Current laws are nothing but a mockery of justice,” he said.
The Karnataka High Court said, “50 to 60 village residents participated in the assault. Collective responsibility is needed to stop these atrocities. “All villagers must take responsibility,” he said.
The state of Karnataka promised justice for Sasikala, but in reality she was only provided with a small amount of compensation and farmland.
In India, last July in the northeastern state of Manipur, two women were forced to march naked amidst ethnic clashes between two ethnic groups, and a month later in August in Rajasthan, a 20-year-old pregnant woman was forcibly stripped naked by her husband and in-laws. I had to march. Also, in July 2021, in Gujarat, a 23-year-old woman was punished by being paraded naked for running away with another man, and similar incidents have been repeated, making headlines in the media each time, but no change is taking place.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.