WATCH ABOVE: Two sisters in India have allegedly been sentenced to be raped as a punishment for their brother’s action of eloping with a married woman.
TORONTO — Hundreds of thousands of people have signed an Amnesty International petition protesting an “abhorrent punishment” for two sisters allegedly sentenced to be raped and paraded naked through their community as punishment for the actions of their brother, who eloped with a married woman from an upper caste.
Amnesty International’s petition demands local authorities intervene in the order, made by an unelected, all-male village council. The veracity of the order, and the existence of the council itself, have been contested since the story became public.
The women, 23-year-old Meenakshi Kumari and her 15-year-old sister, are from a village in India’s Baghpat district. The sisters fled their community in May out of fear; on July 30 the khap panchayat, or village council, made its decision.
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Khap panchayats are generally made up of groups of elderly upper-caste men “who prescribe rules for social behaviour and interaction in villages,” according to Amnesty International. The groups have no legal status.
Meenakshi has since asked India’s Supreme Court for protection, according to the Times of India. The woman told the court that state police have not helped her family, and accused officials of harassing them. The court has asked the local government for a response on the case.
“Act now to demand that this disgusting ruling is not allowed to happen,” states the online petition’s webpage.
The petition, which had achieved its goal of 200,000 signatures as of Aug. 31, urges the Principal Secretary of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh to:
– take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of Meenakshi Kumari, her sister, and the rest of their family, in accordance with their wishes, and ensure that they are able to return to their home;
– carry out a swift, full and impartial investigation into the orders passed by the khap panchayat to rape the sisters, and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecute the suspects;
– ensure the safety of the woman from the dominant caste family, and take necessary precautions to prevent any violence against her.
It appears the organization’s efforts have made some headway: the Times of India reported Monday that the area’s chief minister ordered that the sisters and their family be provided full protection.
The same article states that locals have denied the sentence was ever handed down, or that any such council exists. However, this is not the first case in the country where rape has been ordered as a penalty.
In July 2014 a 14-year-old girl was ordered raped after the girl’s brother was accused of groping a local woman. The woman’s husband raped the girl in the nearby woods.
READ MORE: Village protests rape, killings of Indian sisters
In January of 2014 a council of elders in West Bengal state ordered the gang rape of a 20-year-old woman as punishment for falling in love with the man from a different community.
The rights of women in India and the sexual violence they face has been in the spotlight since a woman’s fatal gang rape in December 2012 sparked international outrage. The 23-year-old student was attacked on a bus while on her way home after seeing a movie with a friend. Recently the case made headlines again when one of her attackers said in a controversial jailhouse interview that the victim would not have been killed had she not fought back, adding “a girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy.”
With files from the Associated Press
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