She Matters

  Witch-Hunting in India and Odisha: A Grim Reality Witch-hunting remains a serious issue in India, particularly in rural and tribal areas, where superstition and patriarchal norms prevail. It is a practice deeply rooted in ignorance, fear, and gender inequality, often resulting in extreme violence against women. Statistics on Witch-Hunting in India: 1.      National Figures: ·        According to the  National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) , over  2,500 people  were killed between 2000 and 2016 due to witch-hunting allegations, with the majority being women. ·        The  2019 NCRB report  documented  102 cases of witch-hunting murders  across India. However, these figures are considered underreported due to stigma and fear of retribution. ·        Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Assam  consistently rank among the stat...

  Gender- Based Violence (GBV) is a global health, human rights and development issue that transcends geography, class, culture, age, race and religion to affect every community and country in every corner of the world. The Article 1 of UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence 1993 provides a definition of gender - based abuse, calling it "any act of gender - based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. In India, gender-based violence has many manifestations; from the more universally prevalent forms of domestic and sexual violence including rape, to harmful practices such as, dowry, honour killings, acid attacks, witch - hunting, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, child marriage, sex selective abortion, sati etc. Ministr...