In yet another case of atrocities against women, a married woman in a tribal-dominated village in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua district was beaten up and shamed since she eloped from her home with a man she loved. As a punishment, the 27-year-old woman was forced to carry her husband on her shoulders.
What had happened?
A video of the punishment which was meted out by the villagers went viral on social media on April 13 after which a probe was ordered. Reportedly, two people have been arrested in connection with the case.
In the video, the woman can be seen struggling while carrying her husband on shoulders as villagers around her hoot and try to shame her. An old man’s laughter can be heard in the video as he dances in front of her and another man hits her with a stick. The women clearly looked like she is unable to carry her husband’s weight on her shoulders, yet she is forced to keep on walking.
Reportedly, the woman ran away from her husband’s home in Devigarh with the man she loved to Gujarat a few days ago. NDTV reported that the woman’s husband and inlaws traced her two days ago and brought her to Devigarh. The villagers, as a form of punishment, told her to walk carrying her husband on shoulders. The incident was then filmed and circulated on social media using WhatsApp.
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: Villagers force a woman to carry her husband on her shoulders as a punishment in Devigarh, Jhabua allegedly for marrying a man from a different caste. (12.4.19) pic.twitter.com/aNUKG4qX7p
— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019
Vijay Dawar, Additional Superintendent Of Police, Devigarh has been quoted as saying, “The woman left her home about ten days back. About 10-12 men misbehaved with the woman after she was back in the village and publicly shamed; they snatched her dupatta. We are trying to ensure there isn’t a repeat of such incidents.”
Superintendent Of Police, Jhabua district, Vineet Jain said, “A woman was tortured and humiliated in public. This is really inhuman. I have told the police station in-charge to go there with additional force and have told them that whoever was present there at the time of the incident should be called to the police station.”
The Logical Indian take
While the year maybe 2019, views of most continue to be regressive and of the past. Whatever the reason may be, a woman was shamed in public for an act which could have been solved by talking. Taking law and punishment into their own hands, people, under the pretext of dispensing “justice” take the movement of social equity and the concept of female empowerment back to ages. While the police do have taken cognizance of such matters, the onus to stop injustice should also lie upon onlookers and citizens.
Also Read: Kerala: 32-Yr-Old Woman Allegedly Shamed, Abused Online For Planning To Visit Sabarimala Temple
