Violence against women is prevalent in India, with the caste system reinforcing the controlling, repressive nature of patriarchy. A poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in which 213 experts, from five continents, ranked countries on six categories, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, harmful practices rooted in culture, tradition and/or religion, lack ‘health threats, of access to economic resources and human that India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world to be a trafficking,’ reveals woman. Whilst discrimination permeates all levels of the caste system, it is the Dalit women who are of a collision of ‘victims deep-rooted gender and caste and are particularly susceptible to WAP. discrimination,’ Witchcraft accusations and persecution are extremely prevalent within India. As noted by the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN), in Asia the largest number of reports of witchcraft comes from India. Moreover, the UNDP ranks India 127th out of 148 countries in terms of gender inequality. As stated by Mishra, when examining the National Crime Records Bureau, over 1791 women had died between 2001 and 2010 due to accusations of witchcraft. Women are, without doubt, the key targets for witchcraft accusations in Indian society. As Singh explains, Witch-hunting is essentially a legacy of violence against women in our society. For almost invariable, it is women, especially Dalit or Adivasi women, who are branded as or witches. By punishing those who are seen as vile dayans and wild, oppressors perhaps want to send a not-so-subtle message to women: docility and domesticity gets rewarded, anything else gets punished. Historically, as observed in Europe, witchcraft killings have long been a part history, as too has the rural India’s devaluation and oppression of women. Whilst India is a deeply superstitious and religious country, superstition and religion are not the only reasons behind accusations of witchcraft. The caste system in India has provided a stark divide between the and the Thus, accusations are predominant within the lower castes, rooted in land disputes, poverty, ‘educated uneducated.’ village politics or as punishment for the rebuffing of sexual advances. As noted by Singh, Dalit and Adivasi women ‘identifying as witches helps preserve caste structures or maintain upper-caste Moreover, witch killings appear to be particularly hegemony.’
Violence against women is prevalent in India, with the caste system reinforcing the controlling, repressive nature of patriarchy. A poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in which 213 experts, from five continents, ranked countries on six categories, ‘health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, harmful practices rooted in culture, tradition and/or religion, lack of access to economic resources and human trafficking,’ reveals that India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world to be a woman. Whilst discrimination permeates all levels of the caste system, it is the Dalit women who are ‘victims of a collision of deep-rooted gender and caste discrimination,’ and are particularly susceptible to WAP. Witchcraft accusations and persecution are extremely prevalent within India. As noted by the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN), in Asia the largest number of reports of witchcraft comes from India. Moreover, the UNDP ranks India 127th out of 148 countries in terms of gender inequality. As stated by Mishra, when examining the National Crime Records Bureau, over 1791 women had died between 2001 and 2010 due to accusations of witchcraft. Women are, without doubt, the key targets for witchcraft accusations in Indian society. As Singh explains, Witch-hunting is essentially a legacy of violence against women in our society. For almost invariable, it is women, especially Dalit or Adivasi women, who are branded as dayans or witches. By punishing those who are seen as vile and wild, oppressors perhaps want to send a not-so-subtle message to women: docility and domesticity gets rewarded, anything else gets punished. Historically, as observed in Europe, witchcraft killings have long been a part rural India’s history, as too has the devaluation and oppression of women. Whilst India is a deeply superstitious and religious country, superstition and religion are not the only reasons behind accusations of witchcraft. The caste system in India has provided a stark divide between the ‘educated and the uneducated.’ Thus, accusations are predominant within the lower castes, rooted in land disputes, poverty, village politics or as punishment for the rebuffing of sexual advances. As noted by Singh, ‘identifying Dalit and Adivasi women as witches helps preserve caste structures or maintain upper-caste hegemony.’ Moreover, witch killings appear to be particularly
PHD_whole_Amendments_post_viva_2016_.docx