Women activists vow to end rising attacks on Assam `witches'

Women activists vow to end rising attacks on Assam `witches'
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

GUWAHATI, SEPT 13: Women activists on Wednesday pledged to end the rising number of attacks on vulnerable women suspected of practicing witchcraft in Assam. The All India Democratic Womens' Association (AIDWA), a leading womens' rights group, has started mobilising public opinion in Assam where incidents of tribal women being killed or ostracised for alleged sorcery have been steadily rising.

``It is shocking to find incidents of tribal women in Assam being killed on charges of practicing witchcraft,'' Brinda Karat, president of the AIDWA said. ``Tribal women in the state are not safe with the law enforcement agencies unable to provide security. We are mobilising public support to fight the evils prevailing in society,'' she added.

Subadhra Basumatary, a 45-year-old tribal woman who escaped death after being set upon by a mob, told reporters here that her troubles started with a rumour and culminated with 150 male villagers trying to bury her alive. ``The local quack doctor in the village told some people that I was a practicing witchcraft and hence many of the villagers who had fallen sick were not getting cured,'' Basumatary, a mother of six, said. ``After that some 100-odd men from the village dragged me out of my house around 10 at night and started beating and torturing me at a public place before deciding to bury me alive as punishment.''

She, however, managed to escape after some village elders intervened, but received numerous injuries, including a fractured hand, broken ribs, and genital damage. More than 50 people have been killed in Assam's remote Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts during the past year for allegedly practicing sorcery and witchcraft. The majority of Bodo tribals practice an indigenous religion called Bathow, believed to be a mix of black magic and superstition which is used in curing ailments or casting evil spells on adversaries.