Women are whipped in India as part of bizarre religious ritual

The #MeToo movement has taken over Bollywood with storm making men and women accountable for their questionable actions with all this going there is brutality ignored under the banner of ‘religious rituals’ and of course men aren’t the ones to be a part of it. 1000’s of women are whipped by male priests in the name of religion in Southern India.

Where women bow down in front of the priests dressed in religious attires and get whipped while the rest stand and watch the spectacle. The reason behind this certain ritual is to ‘drive all the evil away’ from the woman’s life. Each whip leaves a woman bruised and opposite to what they believe ‘Each lash will cure all the physical, mental and ills’.

This ritual is practiced in four states of India Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkand and Chattisgarh. The question is why only women in this time have to get rid of their ‘demons’ when they are just subordinate ones in the society? In the name of religion this is just another example of unconscious institutional sexism and abuse.