Friday, February 9, 2018

India: Activists fighting to end 'virginity test' for newlyweds face beatings


The abuse, the misogynist attitude towards women's bodies inherent in the practice propelled her to join the "Stop the V-Ritual" campaign, said 26-year old Priyanka Tamaichikar from Pune.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Al Jazeera News
By Zeenat Saberin | February 7, 2018

Pune, an industrial city in the west of India, home to many IT giants and also the first Trump-branded apartments in the country, is a cosmopolitan hub.

But within this urbane city lies a deeply conservative hinterland.

On January 21, three young men, Prashant Indrekar, Saurabh Machhle and Prashant Tamchikar, who were part of an anti-patriarchy campaign, were beaten by a group of around 40 people in Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The victims are part of a campaign against a ritual practised in the nomadic Kanjarbhat tribe: a "virginity test" for young brides.

Newlyweds in the community are handed a white sheet on their wedding night to use during intercourse, according to the order of the panchayat, or village caste council.

If the groom does not confirm three times that his wife was a virgin, the council announces a punishment which could entail beatings for the bride and monetary penalty.

If the bride is pronounced as "broken", there is an enquiry about who she lost her virginity to.

The abuse, the misogynist attitude towards women's bodies inherent in the practice propelled her to join the "Stop the V-Ritual" campaign, said 26-year old Priyanka Tamaichikar from Pune.

In December last year, several youth from the Kanjarbhat community created a WhatsApp group titled "Stop the V-Ritual" (the "V" standing for "virginity").


Read original post here: India: The fight to end 'virginity test' for newlyweds


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