The body of Sharika, the one-and-a-half-year old child who was suspected to have been a victim of human sacrifice, was exhumed on Tuesday December 3 and sent for a second post-mortem. More here
The murder of a seven-year-old girl at Damanjodi in Koraput district, around 660km from here, has raised the spectre of child sacrifice in the area. Five persons have been detained for questioning. Read more here
Bangalore, Sep 23: A legislation to impose a crack down against superstition and inhuman evil and gory practices such as black magic and human sacrifices is on the cards. Read more here.
Superstitious and irrational practices have dominated the socio-cultural lives of people from time immemorial. In Nepal, superstitions and caste-based discrimination are endemic. Torturing women by
accusing them of practicing witchcraft is unbridled, not only in rural areas but also in the cities. Read more here.
An elderly woman was lynched by some tea garden workers on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Helem Tea Estate in Assam’s Sonitpur district today. Read more here.
Kokrajhar, Sept. 18: A couple, branded as witches, are on the run with their children following threats to their lives. Read more here.
SAMBALPUR: An old man was killed and his wife critically injured when a group of villagers allegedly attacked them at Tamperkela village, about 35 km from here, accusing the couple of practising witchcraft. A primary school teacher and another person were later arrested for the crime. Read more here.
BANGALORE: The state government has decided to wield the legislative stick to outlaw obscurantist practices in Karnataka. It will bring in legislation outlawing black magic and superstitions on the lines of the Maharashtra government ordinance. A month after the northern neighbour promulgated it, the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman Evil and Gory Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2013 is being readied. Read more here.
BHOPAL: A 35-year-old former member of janpad panchayat beheaded his 6-year-old daughter offering her as sacrifice to a deity in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. Read more here.
Despite the recording of child witchcraft allegations all over the world as human rights violations, the issue has received relatively little attention within human rights discourse from international organizations, academia or civil society. Child witchcraft accusations are a relatively recent phenomenon that is not among the traditional practices of the countries affected. The reasons why children have become the specific focus of child witchcraft accusations remain partially unclear. A number of general common features can help explain its emergence, including profound societal transformations, religious changes, the collapse of traditional institutions and social problems suffered by both children and adults. To address the phenomenon’s complexity, it is necessary to carefully investigate each specific local context in which the allegations occur and to consider the consequences of the practice by the affected children. To read full report here
