#Trending: A Woman From MP Was Forced To Carry Her Husband On Her Shoulders And Walk Around Because The Husband Suspected She Was Having An Affair

In recent times, we have become increasingly aware of the misfortunes of women in our country. From dowry to domestic abuse to rapes and acid attacks, what could and would be buried earlier can’t be hushed up now thanks to social media. This also means that all the age-old practices and kangaroo court punishments that no one knew about that penalize and persecute women for things that are petty crimes are coming to light. Be it superstitions that make women plough a field or blind faith that tells a man to murder his own daughter, some things desperately need reform. 

For instance, just this morning we came across a bizarre incident from Madhya Pradesh where a woman is being punished in the full public glare and in the most horrid way for allegedly cheating on her husband. 

A video that went viral on social media shows the woman being forced to carry her husband on her shoulders and walk around while crowds of men heckle and hit her with sticks. This incident is from the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. 

#Watch: In a bizarre incident, a woman resident of Ranwas village under Para police post in #Jhabua, #MadhyaPradesh, was forced to carry her husband on her shoulders as a punishment for her alleged illicit relations with another man. pic.twitter.com/ooj8Kqvocj

— IANS (@ians_india) July 30, 2020

The 4-minute video shows the woman struggling to carry her husband on her shoulders. When she stops because she can’t walk, she is beaten by the men in the crowd with sticks and forced to pick him up again. In the crowd, you can also see children laughing, cheering the men on and capturing videos of this vile act. 

Great, why teach the children to respect women? 

They publicly shamed a woman just because the husband had doubts that she was cheating on him. Adultery is could be deemed wrong or bad depending on your own moral compass, but is it really a crime? And since when is publicly shaming a woman the way to correct it? 

Taking this matter into consideration, the police has filed a case against seven men including the husband. According to Jhabua Kotwali police station in-charge Narendra Singh Gadaria, the incident happened in Chhapri Ranwas village on Wednesday evening. 

An initial probe into the matter has revealed that the husband and the woman are both labour workers who work in Gujarat. The husband accused the woman of having illicit relations with a co-worker. After his accusations, the family and other villagers decided to publicly punish her. 

Also Read: #Trending: Several Women In Madhya Pradesh Ploughed The Fields Instead Of Bulls Because Of A Superstition That This Will Please The Rain Gods. What Even?

A woman, accused of having an affair, was beaten up and made to carry her husband on her shoulders, in the Jhabua district of MP. An FIR has been registered against the accused men, reports @vaibhavdamoh.https://t.co/7RjLqcAFy1

— The Quint (@TheQuint) July 30, 2020

If she did cheat on him, we have no proof that she did, why couldn’t it be handled quietly like a family matter? If a man cheats on his wife, he is not shamed publicly. Why should the woman be? Besides, what kind of absurd punishment is this? Making the woman carry the husband on her shoulders while other men hit her with sticks and heckle her is messed up on so many levels. This isn’t the Scarlet Letter universe. 

This practice of making a woman who cheated on her husband carry the him on her shoulders is a fairly common one in tribal areas and a few villages. 

Earlier this year, there was a very similar case that happened in the same district. A woman was made to carry her husband on her shoulders and walk around after she eloped to Gujarat with her boyfriend. Reportedly, her in-laws brought her back and punished her for “bringing shame to the village”. 

Have you ever noticed that only women are equated with pride and shame? As I said, if a man cheats on his wife, he is just being a man. But when a woman does it, she brings shame to the family and the village. 

Anyway, this punishment definitely doesn’t fit the crime. Mainly because it is not a crime! I know that changing the laws of these villages and tribal areas is not easy, but we can still try so no woman has to go through that again.

https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/a-man-beheaded-a-woman-and-carried-her-head-to-the-police-station-because-he-suspected-she-practised-witchcraft-theres-no-end-to-superstition-in-this-country/