From Superstition to Savagery

[VegasWolf]

Women Accused of Witchcraft Face Violence in Rural India

By Rama Lakshmi
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, August 8, 2005; Page A12

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/07/AR2005080700947.html

<snip>
PALANI, India -- At sundown, Pusanidevi Manjhi recalled, nine village men stormed into her house shouting, "Witch, witch!" and dragged her out by her hair as her six small children watched helplessly.

"This woman is a witch!" the men announced to the villagers, said Manjhi, 36. She said they tied her ankles together and locked her in a dark room.

Pusanidevi Manjhi, pictured with husband Gooda and their six children, was accused of being a witch by a landowner whose paddy crop was destroyed by fire. She was tortured and held captive for four days. (By Rama Lakshmi For The Washington Post)
"They beat me with bamboo sticks and metal rods and tried to pull my nails out. 'You are a witch, admit it,' they screamed at me again and again," Manjhi said, tearfully recalling her four days of captivity in June.

"They accused me of casting an evil spell on their paddy crop that was destroyed in a fire. I begged them and told them I was not a witch," she said, showing wounds on her legs, thighs, hips and shoulders one recent morning in this village in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand
<snip>

Gotta watch out for those witches, you know!

[tk2kewl]

1. Soon to be coming to a U.S. town near you

:wtf:

[Chovexani]

4. If Jerry Foulwell has his way

:scared:

[leftofcool]

2. Some of us may have to retire

back to the proverbial witch closet.

Left of Cool

[dbonds]

3. I am in the broom closet at my new job.

Last job I was open about it. Decided that while I would tell anyone if they asked, that was a private part of my life.

[Chovexani]

5. That's how I handle it

Though I do wear a tiny, unobtrusive pentacle at work. People are always mistaking it for a Star of David.

[SteppingRazor]

6. Should read: From Ignorance to Violence...

As long as people believe there are supernatural witches who can cast bad spells on them, they will continue to fear supernatural witches who can cast bad spells on them.

[VegasWolf]

7. It has simply amazed me all of my life what people can believe! nt

[Ian David]

8. Superstition is all harmless fun and skepticism is just party-pooping.

Witchcraft must be real, because I saw it on The Discovery Channel.

It's all fun and games until someone gets burned at the stake.

[Maias Mom]

9. Katherine Harris

Wonder what these witch hunters would think of her?

[Igel]

10. The villagers aren't in very good company.

Personally speaking, of course.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=10976&d=1&m=12&y=2001

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=11656&d=31&m=12&y=2001

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=17215&d=26&m=7&y=2002

[wli]

11. Republicans are drooling at the prospect of bringing this to the US

[Megahurtz]

12. Wacko-Fundamentalists of EVERY Religion

are EVERYWHERE.:crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy:

[azoth]

13. oms for one second I read that as "...face violence in INDIANA" and

then, after I noted my error, realized that it didn't make much difference, really. The fundies are panting and drooling at this potentiality, I'm sure, and see it as just ONE more opportunity to wipe all views but their own from the planet. And gosh - what would they do then? Ever wonder that? What would they do then?

This is so very sad. Where do these people COME from?

That poor woman. How fucking dare they.