The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (ANiS), founded by the late Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, has sought the intervention of the State government after yet another case of a forced ‘virginity test’ on a newly married woman came to light on Thursday.
The couple hailing from well-to-do families were allegedly subjected to the humiliating “rite” by the Kanjarbhat caste panchayat after their marriage in the city’s Mundhwa area on December 30. The issue was raised by the ANiS and a State government officer, Krushna Indrekar, who belongs to the Kanjarbhat community. Mr. Indrekar has sent an e-mail to Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil in this regard.
“The groom was the son of a former corporator, who returned after his studies in London; while the bride was an interior designer and daughter of a retired government official. It is shocking how such regressive practices continue,” said Nandini Jadhav of the ANiS.
The ANiS has already apprised Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Rajkumar Badole of the matter while submitting a letter detailing the “humiliating practices that continue in the name of customs and traditions.” Mr. Badole has promised prompt action.
Ms. Jadhav said the main deterrent in booking illicit caste tribunals was the absence of a formal complaint from the victims or their kin.
Meanwhile, Ganesh Machhare, a Kanjarbhat community leader, strongly refuted the allegation. Mr. Machhare claimed that the activists had no proof showing that a virginity test was conducted by the caste tribunal.
The practice of the bridal ‘virginity test’ is rife within the Kanjarbhat community and is forcibly imposed by illegal caste tribunals. A newly married couple is generally taken to a hotel room and the groom is given a white bedsheet and asked to use it during consummation. If the groom displays a bedsheet with blood stains, the bride has ‘passed’ the test. If the bedsheet has no blood stains, the bride is accused by the tribunal of having had physical relationships in the past.
In January last year, three youths from the community were beaten up by members of the caste panchayat in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area for voicing opposition to the archaic practice.