No rape

A group of all-male village elders in India have sentenced two
sisters to be raped and paraded around naked and with their faces
blackened because their brother ran away with a married woman
from a powerful family. It turns out this “court” has handed down
illegal sentences of this kind in the past as well. The sentence of
rape in India is far too common and hard to control even though the
Indian courts have issued warrants for the arrest of the men who
have passed down this criminal judgement.
Meenakshi Kumari, 23, and her 15-year-old sister fled their family
home after the unelected all-male village council made the order.
Their entire family has since had to leave the village too, after being
burdened with relentless abuse.
Amnesty International has started a petition to stop this judgement
and to arrest the elders who passed on the sentence. Even
celebrities in the U.S and the U.K have rallied behind the petition.
Rachel Alcock, Amnesty UK’s Urgent Action Coordinator, said:
“Rape is a revolting crime, not a punishment. It’s no
wonder this disgusting ‘sentence’ has provoked global
outrage. These Khap courts routinely order vile sexually
violent punishments against women. India’s Supreme Court
has rightly declared such orders illegal. The government of
Uttar Pradesh has an urgent duty to keep this family
safe. There must also be a proper, independent
investigation into these barbaric and illegal orders which
apparently continue to be issued by the khap panchayat
courts.”
Part of what has brought so much wrath to the two sisters is that
the family is from a low caste once called “the untouchables.” Ravi,
the brother, eloped with a woman from a higher caste, which is all
powerful. The woman’s family married her off in February but she
ran away and eloped with Ravi. She’s believed to be pregnant by
Ravi.
In the minds of the elders in the village, women are property. Ravi
ran off with someone’s property so they want to get revenge by
destroying his: his two sisters.
The older sister has filed for protection from the court but both
sisters are still on the run. Their family fears for their lives if they
return. They also fear the life of the woman Ravi ran off with. Since
this all began, she returned home to her family’s house. She now
denies having left with Ravi on her own accord. The reporter who
spoke to her thinks she’s lying out of fear:
“I barely knew the man,” she told BBC, with her eyes fixed
on the ground. “I didn’t even know his name. He tricked me
into going with him saying he’ll get me a job. Then he kept
me against my will.”
In bigger cities in India, inter-marriage amongst castes is not
unheard of, but in many villages — especially this one — tradition
remains strong and individual freedom is often compromised.
If you are outraged at the idea of these two sisters being abused
and want to sign the petition, click here . Over 100,000 signatures
are on the petition as of today. We need more.