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200 women are killed every year in India after being accused of witchcraft by Joseph Ernest July 26, 2010 Newscast Media -- An estimated 200 women are killed every year in India on allegations of witchcraft. Most of the deaths occur in poverty-stricken villages in the northern Indian state of Jharkhand, and other states like Haryana and Orissa. Chairman of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, Avdhash Kaushal said that most victims were either single or widowed and were usually targeted for their money. These women are forced to drink urine or eat excrement in public and are then paraded naked through the village. Many of the women commit suicide after such humiliation and shame. Kaushal said, "During our legal literacy program in tribal villages, we came across these incidents of women being called witches and then being killed." More than 2,500 women have been killed for being witches in the past 15 years Kausal said. Kausal emphasized, "A law against killing in the name of witchcraft has been passed in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Chattisgarh, but it is rarely implemented and the highest punishment for committing such a barbaric act is only three months." Add Comments >>

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