A woman who was raped and then denied an abortion is now being forced to ‘prove her purity’. In a pretty grotesque form of victim-blaming, the woman must undergo a sanctity test. According to societal norms in Gujarat, west India, where she is from, the woman must balance a 40 kilogram rock on her head. The unsettling task is known as an ‘agnipariksha’ and it’s carried out to prove she’s ‘pure’ enough to live with her husband.
The woman fell pregnant after she was raped, but the state high court ruling meant she couldn’t have an abortion. She was forced to give birth to her attacker’s baby and local reports suggest she then handed the child into the custody of the government.
An agnipariksha is a cultural tradition still observed in some of India’s remote rural areas. Women whose ‘virtue has been tainted’ by sexual abuse or whose chastity is in question must complete a physically and mentally challenging test.
India News have labelled the sanctity test as ‘chilling’ and ‘shocking’. Here’s a radical idea – punish the rapist, not the victim. See the Video below......
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