RANCHI, India (UCAN) : Calls for a united effort to stamp out the practice of killing women labeled as witches resounded at a recent workshop in Jharkhand state.
"Witchcraft and witch-hunting have become a big problem" in some regions, and a revolution is needed to end it, said Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi. He opened the Dec. 5-6 workshop on witch-hunting, which about 600 women leaders from Jharkhand attended. A governor represents the Indian president in a state. The program was held at the Jesuit-managed Agricultural Training Centre in Namkum, a village near the Jharkhand capital of Ranchi, 1,160 kilometers southeast of New Delhi. The New Delhi-based National Commission for Women (NCW), a federal agency, organized the workshop. The governor called for tribal priests, youths and the police to join the revolution to wipe out witch-hunting, which official records link to the killings of 131 women during from 2000 through 2003. During the same period, the state registered 521 cases of witch-hunting, but no one was convicted because of the absence of witnesses, the governor regretted. "Therefore, generating public awareness and involving youth is the need of the hour," he added. Razi underscored the need to involve tribal priests, who he says have tremendous influence on uneducated villagers. Since local society tolerates witch-hunting, only shamans can help change people's mindset, because tribal people revere them and obey their orders, he added. The governor also called current laws inadequate to tackle the problem. A conviction for witch-hunting brings a six-month jail term and a fine of 2,000 rupees (US$50). A shaman who identifies someone as a witch faces only three months in jail and a 1,000-rupee fine. The problem has directly affected workshop participant Punam Toppo, whose mother was killed nine years ago for allegedly being a witch. The 27-year-old Oraon tribal woman told UCA News her mother was tortured for two years until she died. "Some villagers accused her of casting illness upon children with black magic," she recalled. Toppo said her mother's death emboldened her to launch a campaign against superstitious practices in villages. "Many young girls and women readily responded to my call and a group was formed," she said, recounting how they began to go around villages educating people on the issue. Toppo's group later joined Asha (hope), a Church organization that helped her people get "a strong platform to work across the state." She said support from the NCW will further help them empower villagers to fight atrocities against women. Several other NGOs working against witch-hunting in Jharkhand also participated in the workshop. Speakers presented various statistics to drive home the gravity of the problem in the state. NCW chairperson Girija Vyas termed witch-hunting "a blot on our society" when she spoke with media people on Dec. 6. Over the years Jharkhand has seen a steady increase of witchcraft cases, Vyas said. Such cases involve people charged with labeling women witches as well as women charged with practicing witchcraft. Vyas said the state registered 140 cases last year, whereas it recorded only 96 cases in 2000. According to her, many more cases were not registered with the police. Ajay Kumar, a member of an NGO working on the issue, said at least 917 women were labeled witches in Jharkhand during the period 2000-2006. Last year, his group saved 158 women from several districts who were denounced as witches. "They would have been killed if our workers had not reached them," he added. Cecilia Tudu, a Catholic woman fighting atrocities against women, told UCA News more than 600 women were killed in the past seven years after being accused of practicing witchcraft or black magic. But in most of these instances, cases were not registered, out of fear. "The arrested rarely name the witch doctors, fearing their wrath. People think witch doctors are more powerful than witches," she explained. Tudu acknowledged that the state promulgated a law in 1999 to deal with the phenomenon, but she said shamans have escaped punishment in most cases because nobody has come forward as a witness. She alleged shamans label "innocent women" as witches for money. theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=9618 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
