Bill to stop witch hunting in India

13 July 2007

The increasing graph of crimes against = women under=20 the pretext of them being witches has compelled some = states in=20 India to formulate necessary legislation against this=20 appalling practice. The existing laws have not been = able to=20 neither tackle these vicious crimes nor create fear in = the=20 minds of perpetrators.

The first among three = states to=20 have formulated the Anti Witchcraft Act is Bihar. The = Bihar=20 government passed a law in 1999 called the Prevention = of Witch=20 (dayan) Practices Act, 1999. Jharkhand followed it = with the=20 Anti Witchcraft Act in 2001.

The NGO Free = Legal Aid=20 Committee (FLAC) based in Jharkhand runs a campaign = against=20 this practice. It also provides support to women = accused of=20 being witches and their children. FLAC=92s campaign = also=20 includes awareness and legal literacy through street = plays,=20 publications, documentation through films, etc., which = prompted the passing of the bill in Bihar. The = Chhattisgarh=20 Tonhi Pratarna Bill 2005 (Chhatisgarh Prevention of = atrocities=20 on women in the name of Tonhi) was formulated in July = 2005.=20

In Rajasthan, the State Commission for Women = submitted=20 a draft bill in 2006 to the state government for = stopping the=20 branding of women as witches. The bill once passed = will arm=20 the government in checking witch hunt related crimes.=20 Spokesperson of the Rajasthan Women Commission told = this=20 correspondent that the draft Act is under = consideration. The=20 legal department has suggested some amendments in the = draft=20 Act, which are been looked into by legal experts. =

The=20 proposed Act provides for imprisonment of 2-10 years = for those=20 who violate the Act. The Act also specifies that if a = woman=20 commits suicide because of being accused a witch or is = ill-treated by the members of society or her family, = the=20 persons found guilty would be liable for life = imprisonment.=20

Branding women

The witch hunt = is a=20 common occurrence in certain states of India. The = highest=20 incidences have been reported from Rajasthan, Gujarat, = Assam,=20 West Bengal, Bihar, Maharastra, Andra Pradesh and = Orissa.=20

According to official figures 2,556 women were = branded=20 as witches and killed in India between 1987 and 2003 = (Religion=20 news blog.com, July 2004). From 1991 to 2000, over 522 = cases=20 of witch hunting have been registered in Bihar alone.=20

People from different regions use different = names, for=20 instance, dakan, dayan, banamati, chetabadi, = chillangi, hawa=20 or evil eye, dahani, tonhi, etc. The names may be = different=20 but the practice seems to take a more or less similar = form. In=20 Rajasthan, the local name for the witch is dakan or = dayan; the=20 dakan is always a living woman, quite unlike a churel, = a dead=20 women who manifests herself as an evil force. =

It is=20 believed that the dakan has a capacity to harm others = by the=20 =91evil eye=92, evil words or sometimes by simply = praising=20 anything. Women who are old, widowed, or unprotected = are=20 regarded as more likely to be dakans than others. =

Such=20 dayan brandings have produced an atmosphere of = violence and=20 its various related heinous forms impacting women=92s = psyche and=20 well-being. Women are often locked up in their homes = and not=20 permitted to interact with other people, leading to = feelings=20 of helplessness, fear and powerlessness. =

Exposed to=20 fear and helplessness

In a case identified = in=20 Jodhpur district Sugi Devi Sansi of Tinwari village = was held=20 prisoner in her house for ten long years. As recently = as=20 November 28, 2004, 70 years old Dhoopi Raigar, a = resident of=20 Jita Ka Dalda in Tonk district was forcibly dragged = out of her=20 son=92s house by some of the residents of the same = village=20 belonging to the Bairwa community. They then cut off = her hair=20 and also attempted to immolate her.

The = reason:=20 her son was constructing the second floor of his = house. They=20 were jealous of the fact that a lower caste family was = becoming increasingly prosperous and in order to = prevent this=20 accused Dhoopi of being a dayan.

Memki Bai = Bhajaat of=20 Varlipahada village and Sakri Bai Meena of Sailana = village of=20 Udaipur district were branded dakans due to property = dispute=20 with some of their relatives. Both have been facing = violence=20 over long periods of time and live in a continual = state of=20 fear. Memki keeps a knife and Sakri keeps an axe and = bow and=20 arrows to protect her against future onslaught.=20

Lajwanti Harijan of village Kamolar of Kota = district=20 was declared a dayan by Aziz Khan of the same village = owing to=20 some dispute. After this, other villagers began = holding=20 Lajwanti responsible for all mishaps in the village. = She is=20 given whatever she demands since it is believed that = if her=20 wishes and demands are denied she may cause trouble. = Children=20 are asked to stay away from her. Being a low caste, = Lajwanti=20 and her family feel helpless against the accusations = leveled=20 against her.

These are not solitary examples. = Such=20 distressing cases of atrocities against so called = dayans are=20 perpetrated almost everywhere. The victims are = forbidden from=20 participating in auspicious occasions, are socially=20 ostracized, restricted from moving out, forced to lead = a life=20 of penury, often facing wrath of family members. There = is also=20 change in their residential status, loss of mental = balance,=20 loss of life, and displacement from traditional = occupations.=20

The roots of cruelty =

Superstition is=20 often the chief reason. This factor is strongly linked = to the=20 lack of medical care and awareness in rural areas. In = absence=20 of health care facilities, there is exploitation by = =91ojhas=92 or=20 witch doctors who profit from the villagers=92 = ignorance.=20

Land grabbing, property disputes and revenge = are other=20 major causes behind such accusations in most states. = The above=20 examples reflect that such labeling has become a = common form=20 of violence against women. It is now a pretext for = suppressing=20 women and gaining personal interests.

In many = backward=20 districts of Rajasthan, such as Dungarpur, Banswara, = Kota,=20 Udaipur, Tonk, Chittorgarh and Bhilwara, it has been = observed=20 that women who are mentally ill or show abnormal = behaviour are=20 often branded as witches and ill treated by society.=20

Documenting violence

Jaipur = based=20 Institute of Development Studies conducted a study to = provide=20 an in-depth understanding of the local custom of such=20 branding, analysing the major causes behind and the = forms of=20 violence meted out to the women dakans. The study was=20 supported by USAID and was conducted under the = guidance of=20 Professor Kanchan Mathur.

Mathur has about 20 = years of=20 experience in research, training, consultancy and = advocacy=20 issues related to gender and development in India. She = said=20 the lack of modern health care leads people to depend = on ojhas=20 or spirit diviners for remedies.

Six districts = were=20 selected across three regions: Tonk, Bhilwara, Ajmer = and=20 Bharatpur district in the plain region, Jodhpur = district in=20 the desert and Udaipur district in the tribal region. = A total=20 of 63 cases were documented to provide a broad = insight.=20

According to the study, detailed profiles of = women=20 survivors reveal that highest incidence of dayans take = place=20 in the age group of 41 to 55 years. The reason is that = women=20 in this age group have acquired an assertive position = in the=20 family and society, having dispensed with their = reproductive=20 roles.

The study also highlights that poor, = low caste=20 women are easy targets, with a majority of them = belonging to=20 the SC/OBC and ST castes. The marital status of the = women=20 interviewed shows single women, i.e., widows or = separated=20 women are more likely to be labeled as witches. =

In a=20 majority of cases the women were subjected to verbal = abuse and=20 physical torture as long as they lived and in some = instances,=20 even murdered. The duration of violence faced by the = women=20 ranged from 2 years to more than 20 years, the study = reveals.=20

In analyzing the causes, superstition emerged = as the=20 main cause. Other reasons were land/property disputes, = infertility and childlessness, deformities and = challenges of=20 caste rivalry and often the assertive nature of women. =

The study finds that a majority of women did = not feel=20 confident to approach the police despite the violence = meted=20 out to them. The state machinery such as police, = judiciary,=20 PRIs, NGOs, media and caste panchayats have been = largely=20 ineffective in preventing this practice. The prime = reason has=20 been the absence of an Anti Witchcraft Act in the = state.=20

Women do not have easy accessibility to these=20 institutions, as they are patriarchal in nature and=20 approaching them requires a lot of courage on the part = of=20 women. Most of the victims, being illiterate and = economically=20 and socially vulnerable, compound the problem. =

There=20 is a current need to take a close look at the existing = laws=20 and procedures of investigation, and the actions = relating to=20 trials in court, to see what can be done to provide a = real=20 deterrent to the unscrupulous elements. More than = legislative=20 changes, a real shift in the attitude of people is a = must to=20 overcome this practice.

E-mail- mailto:kalyan.hansak@gmail.com?subject=3D =

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