Six people were arrested in India on Thursday in connection with the rape and murder of two teenagers, aged 15 and 17, whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state. , according to the police.
A local police officer told reporters that the girls, who were sisters, were lured by four of the accused to an empty field, where they were sexually abused and strangled with a handkerchief.
They belonged to a caste considered inferior, which revived the debate about endemic gender violence aggravated by the system.
Family members told police that the girls were kidnapped by men on motorcycles, refuting the official version. “I tried to stop them and ran after them, but they hit me and left,” the mother told local media. The men would all be from the same village.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Minister Brajesh Pathak said the government will seek justice. “We will take the strictest measures in accordance with the laws,” he said. The demonstration, however, did not quell the criticism. The local government, led by Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu nationalist, has been accused of doing little to protect women.
The sisters killed and raped belonged to the Dalit caste, the lowest in India’s hierarchical system and, therefore, economically and socially marginalized. Although the country’s constitution prohibits segregation of the group, in practice it continues to be the target of constant attacks.
Data from the National Crime Bureau show that in 2020, there were 3,372 cases of rape against Dalit women and girls — an average of ten a day. From 2015 to that year, there was a 45% increase in the figure.
Also according to the agency, the number of crimes against marginalized castes has increased. Last year, they grew by an average of 1.2% across the country, especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the sisters were killed, which recorded an increase of 25.8% in the period.
In a report, the NGO Human Rights Watch described that the subordinate and exploitative position of most Dalit women, who make up the majority of landless workers, as well as a significant part of the women forced into prostitution in rural and urban areas, favors the scenario for sexual violence.
Jacqui Hunt, director for gender issues at the NGO Equality Now, which follows the issue, told the British newspaper The Guardian, said that significant efforts were lacking to address caste-based sexual violence, although several similar cases have already gained prominence in the country and been the subject of waves of protests.
“Change is urgently needed so as to incorporate good protective laws that are effectively implemented to protect minorities and hold perpetrators accountable.”
The case of the sisters evokes a tangle of similar episodes in the Asian country. In one, 11 men linked to the rape of a Muslim woman were released early in August, in a case linked to political pressures.
The woman was repeatedly raped by the attackers when she was pregnant and had her three-year-old daughter and other family members killed. But the men, high-caste Hindus, were released by a controversial court ruling.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
