Sisters 'sentenced' to rape as punishment for brother's elopement
Two girls have been ordered to be raped and publicly humiliated as punishment for their brother eloping with a married woman in India.
Meenakshi Kumari, 23, and her 15-year-old sister were 'sentenced' to be raped and paraded through the street naked with blackened faces by an unofficial all-male village council after their brother escaped with a woman of the dominant Jat caste.
According to reports, the pair were in love and the woman was forced to marry someone from her own caste.
A petition by human-rights organisation Amnesty International is calling for authorities to stop the unofficial, 'disgusting' rape sanction.
It has garnered over 110,000 signatures so far.
The family and sisters, who are of the Dalit caste, had previously fled the village in fear that the actions of their brother would mean devastating repercussions for them.
"These Khap courts routinely order vile sexually violent punishments against women," Rachel Alcock, Amnesty UK's urgent action coordinator said.
"India's Supreme Court has rightly declared such orders illegal. The government of Uttar Pradesh has an urgent duty to keep this family safe.
"There must also be a proper, independent investigation into these barbaric and illegal orders which apparently continue to be issued by the khap panchayat courts."
The sisters have petitioned the Supreme Court asking for protection from the village council in Uttar Pradesh state, around 50 kilometres from Delhi.
Their father has also lodged a complaint with two national bodies saying his family has been harassed not just by the family of the eloped woman - who are of the dominant caste and therefore influential - but also by the police, Amnesty reports.
Known as khap panchayats, village councils are comprised of local male elders and are illegal in India, however they still operate in rural parts of the county.
