13-year-old Devdasi Girl, #Raped by #Religious Leaders in #India, Gives Birth

December 28, 2014, Maharashtra

A 13-year-old “devdasi” who was repeatedly raped over a period of time by several “religious leaders” in Akole tehsil of Ahmednagar, gave birth to a daughter. The police has arrested four persons. The girl was sold off as a ‘Devdasi’ by her grandmother Leelabai Jadhav when she was one year old. When she was 10, she was taken away to sing in gondhal (night programmes) by prime accused Rajendra Chavan, who was also her “guru”  and godfather. She is believed to have been sexually abused by Chavan and many others since she was 10.

http://www.asianage.com/india/raped-13-year-old-devdasi-gives-birth-4-held-552

Despite numerous laws, the Devdasi tradition where daughters are sold into ‘temple prostitution’ continues to flourish in India. For more see this report http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/21/devadasi-india-sex-work-religion

#Teenage Girls #Gang #Raped and Hanged to Death in #UttarPradesh

The tree where the girls were hanged to death

Two teenage girls who had gone to the fields near their village in Badayun were gang raped by 5 men, including two police constables, and then hanged to death. The police refused to help the family find the girls, and instead directed them to where they could be found.  The girls belong to the lower-caste Dalit community, while the rapists are believed to belong to the upper caste Yadav community, and this is believed to be a caste-based hate-crime.  Others believe that this is a revenge attack against the village for voting against the party in power. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/two-minor-dalit-girls-raped-and-hanged-in-uttar-pradesh/articleshow/35741642.cms

Woman and her Daughters Burnt and Killed Over Dowry

Ethah, Uttar Pradesh, June 16, 2012

A married woman in her mid-20s and her two daughters aged three years and eight-months were set on fire and killed by the woman’s in-laws.  The woman’s brother said that the in-laws had been demanding more dowry since her wedding. Report here. Report here

 

Burnt To Death For Dowry And Giving Birth To Girls

Bicholim, Goa, October 20, 2011

 

Bicholim police on Wednesday arrested Jagdish Chopdekar on charges of allegedly killing his wife Ujwala, who died due to burn injuries recently at Tikhazan-Mayem. Ujwala’s family filed a complaint with the police, in which they reported that she was being abused for not bringing enough dowry and for giving birth to two girls. Read the report

Newborn Girl Dumped In Public Trash Can

Mumbai, October 08, 2011

On Thursday morning, those around Bhosale Maidan in Borivali (E) heard wails of a child. However, no one could figure where it was coming from.  When the wails didn’t stop, a shopkeeper followed the cries to a dustbin and, shockingly, found a baby girl had been dumped in one corner, put inside a plastic carry bag and a lot of garbage had been dumped on her. Rajendra Thakur, senior inspector who helped rescue the infant said, “She was completely covered in muck. Whoever dumped her obviously did not want the baby to live. Her umbilical cord and placenta were still intact. This is not a stray case.  On an average, 10-20 newborn girls are found killed or abandoned across the state every single day.”  Read the report here

Mother Drowns Her Two Daughters

Howrah, 07 March 2008

Seema Sai confessed to drowning her two daughters, aged 4 years and 9 months,  in a Belur Math reservoir, apparently driven by “regular taunts” at her in-laws’ house for giving birth to girls.  Two days after the bodies of the two girls were fished out from the pond, the 24-year-old home-maker told police that she was subjected to “mental torture” by her husband and in-laws.  Read the report here