• India. Caccia a ‘streghe’ in villaggio

    epa02488350 Witch Hunting victims Khedai Rabha sharing her ordeal at a state level consultation on 'Witch hunting' organisaed by Asam Mahila Samata Samiti on the occasion of International Human Rights Day in Guwahati city, northeast India, 10 December 2010. Witch hunting is a superstition practiced in northeastern states in particularly in Assam state is wide spread among the communities like Rabha, Hajong, Bodo, Adivasi etc. A witch is believed to be one who practices black magic and as a result brings evil to the community. Most of the victims are women though sometime men are also branded as witch. The process of ?detection? of witches is the discretion of one individual that is accepted by the whole community. Two processes are common that is if there is any outbreak of disease without cure and the purohit (priest) of the local temple predicts the name of the witch and the villager then takes the ?action? of either eliminating her or chasing her from the village. Women branded as witch are covered with fish net and tortured with the teeth of pig. Due to brutal torture women are forced to confess and accept themselves as witches. Once a woman accepted her as a witch, she is either chased away from the village or killed and cut into pieces and buried in different places. It is also believed that if the pieces are buried together the witch may take rebirth. Before killing or chasing away the women or her family is humiliated in the public by shaving her hair or paraded naked. Various women's rights group in Assam state are demanding a state law to eliminate this evil practice. EPA/STR

    Cinque donne sono state uccise in un villaggio dell’India centrale perché accusate di praticare la stregoneria. Lo scioccante incidente è avvenuto a Mandar, a circa 40 km da Ranchi, il capoluogo dello stato tribale del Jharkhand. Secondo la ricostruzione della polizia, le donne sono state prelevate dalle loro case e picchiate con bastoni e spranghe da un gruppo di giovani del villaggio. “La gente del posto – riferisce un agente – ritiene che erano coinvolte in rituali di magia nera”.

    Fonte: ANSA

    •