2 sisters have been sentenced to be raped as punishment
after their brother ran off with a married woman.
An unelected all-male village council in India also ordered
that 23-year-old Meenakshi Kumari and her 15-year-old
sister are paraded naked with blackened faces.
The horrific order was revealed by Amnesty International
which said the sisters and their family have fled their
village in the Baghpat district, just outside of Delhi.
According to news site Zee Media, the sisters' brother Ravi
fell in love with a girl from the Jat caste, a higher social
caste than Ravi and his family, who are Dalit, once known
as the 'untouchables', who are at the bottom of India's
caste system.
The Jat woman's family married her off to someone else in
February but she later escaped and eloped with Ravi in
March.
As punishment, on July 31 a village council decided Ravi's
sisters should be raped to avenge his actions.
Since the family fled their village their home has been
ransacked.
Sumit Kumar, another brother of Meenakshi, told Amnesty
that members of the Jat caste were powerful members of
the village council, saying: "The Jat decision is final."
His family fears for their lives if they return. Meenakshi
has filed a petition with India's Supreme Court asking for
protection.
Meanwhile her father has also lodged a complaint with two
national bodies saying he has been harassed by the family
of the Jat woman and by police.
They are also worried about the safety of the Jat woman,
who is believed to be pregnant with Ravi's child.
Amnesty International has launched a petition calling on
India's authorities intervene immediately and protect the
two sisters.
In an appeal, Amnesty said: "Unelected village councils
such as this are widespread in parts of India.
"More often than not they are made up of older
men from dominant castes, who prescribe rules for
social behaviour and interaction in villages.
"Nothing could justify this abhorrent punishment.
It's not fair. It's not right. And it's against the
law."
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