Woman labelled as a Witch Thrashed
A 36-year-old woman was labeled as a witch by villagers in Tapi, Gujarat and was thrashed.
A 36-year-old woman was labeled as a witch by villagers in Tapi, Gujarat and was thrashed. She was beaten up so badly that she required urgent medical attention. Buhari police were informed of the incident but FIR has not been filed. Residents of a small village in Tapi attacked the woman as they suspected she was possessed by an evil spirit and was responsible for some bad events that happened to some of them. The lady was tied to an electrical pole and thrashed by her neighbours who wanted her to go away from the village. Fortunately, a good person called 181 Abhayam helpline and informed them of the situation.
Usually victims of witch hunts are widows. Even this lady was a widow. Her husband died six years ago. She is the only earning member of her family. Her mother and two sons aged 14 and 9 years are her family. She works as a farm labourer. Abhayam helpline officials informed that the villagers taunted her, and asked her to leave the village as they believed she had cast her ‘evil eye’ on them. They said, “Recently when a neighbour was sick, they blamed it on the woman.”
The villagers dragged her out of her house, tied her to the electrical pole, and began thrashing her.
They said they would call a 'bhuwa' to perform an exorcism on her. Police officials were informed but more than 24 hours later the police had taken no action against the accused and not even filed an FIR. The National Commission for Women (NCW) came to know about the incident through the newspaper and issued orders to the Gujarat DGP to send a report on action taken in the matter. Modernization, access to better health and sanitation facilities has changed people’s beliefs in such practices. But superstition still goes on in some underprivileged (poor) communities. A few states have accepted anti- witch hunting laws, but not Gujarat.
