India, already infamous for its gross abuse of females, continues to shame itself as a nation, this time by punishing a wife for the sins of her philandering husband.
Apparently the woman’s shiftless spouse ran off with the neighbor’s misses, and the neighbor then angrily filed a complaint with council elders seeking monetary compensation from the abandoned wife.
Thereafter, the elders decided it was perfectly just and fit that the woman should pay restitution to the jilted neighbor worth about $5000.
And, if she failed to pay the fine or couldn’t, she’d be forced to live with the man, either as his servant or his mate!
In a region of the world where rape can happen in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded bus, and where victimized women and girls are often the subject of honor killings or publicly stoned to death, it’s probably a fairly light sentence.
But the kangaroo council’s callous and sexist decision has justifiably sparked outrage in the civilized world, which is likely the only reason Indian authorities are now investigating.
Elders themselves are unelected public officials, and therefore their orders, from a legal standpoint, are technically considered nonbinding.
However, such councils hold great power in the backward villages they rule over, and are often responsible for the vicious murders of females who have “brought shame” upon male family members or society in general.
