emphas.is/web/guest/discoverprojects?projectID=839 Witch Branding Little is written or heard in modern India of stories like Jemma Cope’s, from Jharkhand state. Yet hundreds of cases just like hers – the shockingly inhumane treatment of women under the accusation of witchcraft - continue to occur every year across the country. When Jemma’s husband and father passed away, both her in-laws and her brother took advantage of her vulnerable position as a single woman with two small children in order to acquire her land; they spread rumours that she was practicing witchcraft and was responsible for the death of her husband. As the rumour spread, other villagers even began using Jemma as the local punch bag. She told me how they began beating her whenever they found her alone, taking all their anger and frustrations out on her body. What began as myth and taboo rooted in tribal beliefs has become a convenient medium for the domination, exploitation and abuse of women - especially independent women living without a man - by deeply patriarchal societies. The documentation of such incidents is poor, though understood to be widespread and always married with violent acts. Witchcraft accusations blight the lives of women and girls and are a significant hindrance to progress. I plan to return to three particular states; Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh - all classified by the Indian Government as ‘Red Zones’. These zones comprise the ‘Red Corridor’: a region in the east of India that experiences considerable Naxalite Communist insurgency. The Red Corridor districts are among the poorest in the country; they suffer from the greatest illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation in modern India. The Naxals are a people’s army that have been active for over four decades in thirteen Indian states and claim to defend the rights of the poor - especially the landless Dalits (untouchables) and tribal communities. Yet the lack of basic education, health facilities, caste-based discrimination and effective rule of law mean that women in these areas are particularly vulnerable. Tribal women, due to their place in the social order, especially find themselves without the protection of the State, which activists suggest has failed to act against this heinous crime: whether through police intervention or awareness raising campaigns. In fact, activists report that most often these women are tortured and killed by their own family members in cahoots with village authorities. Help me uncover more of the truth behind these witch-brandings and allow these women to be seen and heard. emphas.is/web/guest/discoverprojects?projectID=839 or skolari.photoshelter PS: PLEASE SPREAD THE MESSAGE Thank you for your support!!! Witch Branding emphas.is
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 12:06:53 +0000
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