Posted on 07/04/2003 9:03:47 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Two women were burnt alive in Godda earlier this week on the orders of the village panchayat. The next evening, a 65-year-old woman was killed in neighbouring Gumla district. Their fault: They were believed to be witches. But these two incidents are just the tip of the iceberg.
Perpetrated by ojhas (witch doctors), such killings have suddenly shot up in Jharkhand. Officially, more than 30 'witches', mostly tribals, have been killed, while NGOs working in the area say the figure could be 60 or higher.
The state had, in 2001, adopted the Prevention of Witchcraft Act to curb the menace. But the law enforcement agencies have little knowledge about the law, so it is hardly ever implemented.
Free Legal Aid Committee, an NGO that has been spearheading the witchcraft prevention movement since 1991, has demanded an anti-witchcraft awareness decade.
The NGO's chairman, Premchand, says: "In most of the cases, it's either for sexual desires of the Ojha, if the victim is young lady, or for land and property, in the case of an elderly woman, that such crimes are committed. Therefore, in order to eliminate this superstitious practice the government besides imposing strict measures against the Ojhas also needs to come up with a package for their rehabilitation."
If this kind of witch-burning stuff went on here, we wouldn't have to put up with "covens", "earth mothers" and really annoying teenagers trying to prove how deep they are by claiming to be "witches".
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