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Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Indian Express
Burnt alive, strangled, slashed: For witch hunts to end, India must break cycles of misogyny, poverty
Gender inequality, ignorance, and stark differences in social assistance, healthcare, and law enforcement are not isolated problems. Rather, they are ingrained in the fabric of a country that takes pride in being the 'fourth-most equal' in the world. In this land of near-perfect equality, it appears the benefits are selectively distributed. For many, equality remains a promise on paper, while they continue to wade through chaos, injustice, and indifference. Between April and July 2025, a troubling trend reemerged in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh: Tribal men and women were brutally murdered or maimed on suspicion of practising witchcraft. A mob in Tetgama village of Purnia district assaulted and burnt alive five members of a tribal family, including three women, when the 16-year-old boy allegedly named his own mother as the witch. Three months ago, a 60-year-old indigenous woman in Rohtas suffered a similar fate. There are reports of women being strangled, and abandoned in jungles in the Khunti and East Singhbhum regions of Jharkhand because they were made scapegoats, blamed for someone's sickness. In another recent incident in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, on July 7, a tribal man was almost killed by physical assault by neighbours who believed he had used demonic powers to call out disease. Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal are the 12 states in India where witch hunting is most common. According to NCRB data, more than 2,500 individuals, mostly women, were slain nationwide between 2000 and 2016 on suspicion of practising witchcraft. These are the ones that, following intense pressure or public outcry, made it into police logs. It's hard to say how many more were unreported, unrecognised, or silently buried due to institutional indifference, shame, or terror. Research conducted by Action Aid showed that in 12 districts of Odisha, in 27 per cent of witch-branding incidents, the victims were accused of causing health problems affecting children, 43.5 per cent of causing health problems affecting an adult family member, 24.5 per cent of bad luck or land grabbing, and five per cent held responsible for crop failure. Ojhas are traditional healers or sorcerers found mainly in rural parts of India, especially in states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Often called witch doctors, they claim to possess supernatural powers to identify witches or evil spirits believed to cause illness, misfortune, or crop failure. Ojhas perform rituals and demand offerings such as goats, chickens, or alcohol from villagers in exchange for their services. Once someone is identified as a witch by ojhas, they often face severe social stigma and mistreatment. This can include public humiliation, such as being paraded naked through the village or subjected to degrading acts like being forced to eat human faeces. Unfortunately, such situations sometimes escalate to violence, including physical assault or victims being killed and burning alive. Witch-hunting may appear, on the surface, to be a matter of superstition, but it reflects a much deeper and more complex socio-economic crisis. The districts and states where such incidents are most prevalent — such as parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh — are often marked by acute poverty, poor education levels, inadequate healthcare, and weak law enforcement. Despite the existence of anti-witch-hunting laws like the Witch-Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act of 2013 in some states, implementation remains patchy and ineffective. Public health systems in these regions are either absent or severely under-resourced, forcing people to turn to private healthcare, which demands high out-of-pocket expenditure that many cannot afford. This creates fertile ground for fear, misinformation, and scapegoating. In many rural and tribal areas, the cycle of poverty is greatly exacerbated by restricted work possibilities and a lack of access to primary and high-quality education. Communities that have limited opportunities for social or economic advancement frequently turn to traditional belief systems to explain disease, conflict, or bad luck. Ojhas, or local witch doctors or faith healers, have a significant amount of power in these settings. In times of need, people resort to them for answers or explanations, which frequently involve identifying a so-called witch. Moreover, witch-hunting is not just about belief — it is also deeply gendered. Women who resist patriarchal control, assert their rights to property, or push back against sexual advances by powerful men are often targeted. This dependency on superstition is not just a cultural issue but a symptom of systemic neglect. The absence of awareness, scientific understanding, and basic services traps communities in cycles of fear and blame. Tragically, it is often women — especially those who are independent, elderly, or outspoken — who are branded as witches. Thus, the vicious cycle continues: Poverty breeds superstition, superstition fuels witch-hunting, and witch-hunting reinforces social inequality and fear. Ending the cycle of witch-hunting takes more than simply written restrictions; it also necessitates empathy in policy, education in every household, and respect for all women. As long as poverty prevails (despite the World Bank's report on India's position on equality), and gender equality remains a distant objective, superstition will fill the void. Women stigmatised as witches are victims not just of superstition, but also of terrible disparities and a system that fails to protect the poor and vulnerable. It is time to shift the narrative — from fear to understanding, silence to justice — so that no woman is harassed just for existing. The writer is assistant professor, Department of Economics, Dr B R Ambedkar College, University of Delhi
The Guardian
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Critics of UK role in Gaza war consider setting up independent tribunal
Critics of the UK's role in the Gaza war are considering setting up an independent tribunal if, as expected, Labour blocks a bill tabled by Jeremy Corbyn backing an official inquiry. Government whips are expected to object to the former Labour party leader's bill in the Commons on Friday, leaving him with few practical options for his legislation to pass. The Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, said the government saw no need for an inquiry, but 22 NGOs working on issues in the region are supporting Corbyn's call. The Islington North MP is arguing that a host of issues regarding the UK's involvement in what he regards as a genocide by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not been properly aired in Westminster, except through brief replies by ministers in written or oral questions. The NGOs led by Action Aid said: 'In light of reports of atrocities committed by the Israeli government in Gaza and reports of the UK's collaboration with Israeli military operations, it is increasingly urgent to confirm whether the UK has contributed to any violations of international humanitarian law through economic or political cooperation with the Israeli government since October 2023, including the sale, supply or use of weapons, surveillance aircraft and Royal Air Force bases.' They said establishing an independent public inquiry would provide an evidence-based determination of whether the UK's actions upheld international law. The possible inquiry comes in the week that the UK courts threw out a 20-month legal battle to force the government to end indirect sales of F-35 parts to Israel for use in Gaza. The judges ruled it was not for the courts to make sensitive political judgments regarding whether the risk of curtailing the supply of F-35s for use by Nato outweighed the danger that the IDF with UK weaponry was acting unlawfully in Gaza. Corbyn's inquiry would investigate what the UK did to press Lockheed Martin, the US main F-35 contractor, to give an undertaking that UK-supplied parts would not go to Israel, an issue that was largely covered in a closed court session from which reporters and some barristers are excluded. In written answers the defence minister Maria Eagle said: 'If the UK government were to withdraw from the F-35 global spares pool, it would effectively be withdrawing from the F-35 programme, meaning that the UK would not be able to operate its F-35 fleet of aircraft.' The court case, although a comprehensive defeat for human rights advocates, helped shine a light on how decisions to suspend UK arms sales are made under current arms control laws. The case revealed that due to the lack of definitive evidence ministers had concluded only one IDF military action in Gaza breached international humanitarian law. The Foreign Office had subcontracted examination of 412 incidents, but Falconer told MPs: 'We have not been able to reach a determination in relation to the conduct of hostilities due to the lack of sufficient, verifiable evidence.' Corbyn has also been pursuing information about RAF flights – of which there have been at least 538 – from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus over the eastern Mediterranean including Gaza since October 2023. The UK insists these flights have purely been to help locate hostages, and not to assist the IDF in pursuing Hamas. It also says the flights have been unarmed. He would like an inquiry to prise open more details of the UK-Israeli military cooperation agreement signed in December 2020. The Ministry of Defence, in a written answer, said the 'agreement incorporates a range of defence engagement activity, including defence education', adding that it was 'not possible to release this agreement as it is held at a higher classification'.
TimesLIVE
04-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Civil society leaves UN development summit feeling unheard
When more than 1,000 civil society representatives flocked to Seville this week for a UN conference on development financing, their expectations were already low — but the four-day event left many frustrated and feeling their voices were stifled. The once-in-a-decade summit promised to marshall resources that could narrow the estimated $4.3-trillion (R75.79-trillion) financing gap needed to help developing countries overcome mounting debt distress, the ravages of climate change or structural inequality, among other hurdles. However, the world's richest governments have been slashing aid and bilateral lending while increasingly prioritising defence spending as geopolitical tensions escalate, raising doubts that the cautious optimism expressed by most officials in attendance was realistic. Several civil society organisations (CSOs) were critical of the measures outlined in a final document, the "Seville Commitment", which they said was watered down by wealthier nations unwilling to walk the talk. Others lambasted what they described as a private sector-first approach to development. Arthur Larok, secretary general of ActionAid, said Global South countries were "returning home empty-handed" while Global North governments did so "free from responsibility".
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Critics of UK role in Gaza war consider setting up independent tribunal
Critics of the UK's role in the Gaza war are considering setting up an independent tribunal if, as expected, Labour blocks a bill tabled by Jeremy Corbyn backing an official inquiry. Government whips are expected to object to the former Labour party leader's bill in the Commons on Friday, leaving him with few practical options for his legislation to pass. The Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, said the government saw no need for an inquiry, but 22 NGOs working on issues in the region are supporting Corbyn's call. The Islington North MP is arguing that a host of issues regarding the UK's involvement in what he regards as a genocide by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not been properly aired in Westminster, except through brief replies by ministers in written or oral questions. The NGOs led by Action Aid said: 'In light of reports of atrocities committed by the Israeli government in Gaza and reports of the UK's collaboration with Israeli military operations, it is increasingly urgent to confirm whether the UK has contributed to any violations of international humanitarian law through economic or political cooperation with the Israeli government since October 2023, including the sale, supply or use of weapons, surveillance aircraft and Royal Air Force bases.' They said establishing an independent public inquiry would provide an evidence-based determination of whether the UK's actions upheld international law. The possible inquiry comes in the week that the UK courts threw out a 20-month legal battle to force the government to end indirect sales of F-35 parts to Israel for use in Gaza. The judges ruled it was not for the courts to make sensitive political judgments regarding whether the risk of curtailing the supply of F-35s for use by Nato outweighed the danger that the IDF with UK weaponry was acting unlawfully in Gaza. Corbyn's inquiry would investigate what the UK did to press Lockheed Martin, the US main F-35 contractor, to give an undertaking that UK-supplied parts would not go to Israel, an issue that was largely covered in a closed court session from which reporters and some barristers are excluded. In written answers the defence minister Maria Eagle said: 'If the UK government were to withdraw from the F-35 global spares pool, it would effectively be withdrawing from the F-35 programme, meaning that the UK would not be able to operate its F-35 fleet of aircraft.' The court case, although a comprehensive defeat for human rights advocates, helped shine a light on how decisions to suspend UK arms sales are made under current arms control laws. The case revealed that due to the lack of definitive evidence ministers had concluded only one IDF military action in Gaza breached international humanitarian law. The Foreign Office had subcontracted examination of 412 incidents, but Falconer told MPs: 'We have not been able to reach a determination in relation to the conduct of hostilities due to the lack of sufficient, verifiable evidence.' Corbyn has also been pursuing information about RAF flights – of which there have been at least 538 – from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus over the eastern Mediterranean including Gaza since October 2023. The UK insists these flights have purely been to help locate hostages, and not to assist the IDF in pursuing Hamas. It also says the flights have been unarmed. He would like an inquiry to prise open more details of the UK-Israeli military cooperation agreement signed in December 2020. The Ministry of Defence, in a written answer, said the 'agreement incorporates a range of defence engagement activity, including defence education', adding that it was 'not possible to release this agreement as it is held at a higher classification'.
CNA
04-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Civil society leaves UN development summit feeling unheard
SEVILLE, Spain: When over 1,000 civil society representatives flocked to Seville this week for a UN conference on development financing their expectations were already low, but the four-day event left many frustrated and feeling their voices were stifled. The once-in-a-decade summit promised to marshall resources that could narrow the estimated US$4.3 trillion financing gap needed to help developing countries overcome mounting debt distress, the ravages of climate change or structural inequality, among other hurdles. However, the world's richest governments have been slashing aid and bilateral lending while increasingly prioritising defence spending as geopolitical tensions escalate, raising doubts that the cautious optimism expressed by most officials in attendance was realistic. Several civil society organisations (CSOs) were critical of the measures outlined in a final document, the "Seville Commitment", which they said was watered down by wealthier nations unwilling to walk the talk. Others lambasted what they described as a private sector-first approach to development. Arthur Larok, secretary general of ActionAid, said Global South countries were "returning home empty-handed" while Global North governments did so "free from responsibility". Still, certain initiatives - such as an alliance to tax the super-rich or plans to slap new levies on premium and private-jet flying - were widely celebrated among CSOs. Their main complaint was a lack of access, with accusations ranging from difficulties obtaining accreditations to exclusion from key negotiations, prompting CSO delegates to hold a protest at the conference's venue on its final day. "We've witnessed an unprecedented wave of restrictions and lack of attention to the voice of civil society," Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, executive director of the Nigeria Network of NGOs, told Reuters, adding a new mechanism was needed to insert their perspective into global decision-making. UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed acknowledged CSOs' grievances in Thursday's closing press briefing and said the UN would endeavour to "expand the space" for them. "The UN was built to defend human rights - if it cedes to the global trend of shrinking civic space, it'll undermine its legitimacy," said Hernan Saenz of Oxfam International. In a joint declaration on Sunday, the CSOs denounced the international financial system as unjust and called for its "complete overhaul". Despite the pervasive discontent, all CSO representatives interviewed by Reuters said they ultimately believed in the UN system. Hirotaka Koike, a board member at the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, said he did so because it was the only place where all countries were treated equally.
