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In a recent development, the SC announced that Khap Panchayats no longer have the right to 'punish' adult couples in an inter-caste marriage. Read here.
In a recent development, the SC announced that Khap Panchayats no longer have the right to ‘punish’ adult couples in an inter-caste marriage. Read here.
In a judgement declared on Tuesday, 16th Jan 2018, the apex court of the country has pronounced it illegal for Khap Panchayats, i.e., the informal judiciaries found in small rural areas, to take any form of action against men and women who are of age and choose to marry in a different caste.
“Adults can get into marriages of their choice and no panchayat, khap, individual, society can question them,” the SC said, as reported in the Times Of India.
This comes as some truly positive news against the regressive customs that let honour killings become prevalent in areas under such panchayats. We are all aware of the inhumane murders of numerous men and women who rebelled against the old customs of caste and went for an inter-caste marriage. These Khap Panchayats have also been infamous for letting this evil flourish under the garb of maintaining ‘traditions’ and the ‘honour’ of the concerned families.
The court has also been asked to enforce a body for the protection of these couples, but that decision is yet to be considered, as mentioned in the same article by the Times Of India above. Just making these actions illegal is obviously not enough, but we can hope that it’s a start of decision making in this domain. We desperately need the intervention of authorities in these jurisdictions where panchayats sort out matters on the basis of age-old beliefs, which mostly do not align with the current idea of justice that a citizen of India is entitled to.
I hope that the decision is revised, and made more nuanced and enforceable with the coming times and works as an axe against this oppressively old tree of crimes in the name of honour and tradition.
This episode on the noted show Satyameva Jayate shows Khap Panchayat members talking of their views.
Top image via this video
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Stop glorifying biological parenthood - other methods of growing a family are just as valid, and completely a couple's choice, especially of the woman whose body goes through pregnancy and birth.
Stop glorifying biological parenthood – other methods of growing a family are just as valid, and completely a couple’s choice, especially of the woman whose body goes through pregnancy and birth.
Trigger Warning: Contains derogatory remarks about having a baby through surrogacy or any means other than giving birth through biological means, and may be triggering, especially to adoptive parents.
Recently Priyanka Chopra Jonas announced parenthood by surrogacy. This has once again sparked the debate about ethical surrogacy, which is a discussion for another day.
Arathi Rajagopalan, founder of 'House of Kalart', talks about thinking like a designer & transitioning to thinking like a business owner.
Excerpts from an interview with Arathi Rajagopalan, founder of ‘House of Kalart’ – a fusion jewellery label that merges global aesthetics and traditional craftsmanship.
When did you start ‘House of Kalart’ and what was the intention?
I started House of Kalart in 2017 as a venture where painting, drawing and embroidery are married with metalsmithing to create well-handcrafted fashion jewellery. Along with painting and styling, the venture aims to create a holistic fashion experience for a bold and dramatic woman!” As a child, I had always been fascinated by arts and crafts.
The importance of Khap Panchayats in India is rising precisely because of the media publicity they are receiving. Media, stop running to Khap Panchayats!
A spate of rapes in Haryana, and the Khap Panchayats are out with their antiquated prescriptions to save women by getting them married by the time they are 16. Never mind that rape victims tend to be not just young, single women but married mothers and grandmothers too. The Khaps are regressive, the Khaps have no deep understanding of crime against women, the Khaps are made up of old men who are desperate to hang on to their power based on age and caste, in a fast changing world which doesn’t value these variables anymore.
All right thinking people know this, I would think, but the media rush to seek Khap opinion on issues, and especially on issues involving women, makes me doubt it. (more…)
A woman was beaten up in public for being 'characterless' on the orders of a Khap panchayat in Uttar Pradesh. Do you still doubt why we need feminism?
A woman was beaten up in public for being ‘characterless’ on the orders of a Khap panchayat in Uttar Pradesh. Do you still doubt why we need feminism?
If there was a competition of generating the most regressive news between people, this headline would still shock the audience. That’s how ashamed our country should be for actually letting a woman be beaten up in public, under the eye of the Khap Panchayat of the district of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.
A video came into light last Thursday of this incident, about a woman whose husband suspected her of trying to an affair, and hence, she was sentenced by the Khap Panchayat to be flogged by her husband in public, while tied to a tree .