A man in Nashik district of Maharashtra called off his second wedding after the woman failed their community’s virginity test.
The incident happened last month when the girl from Ahmednagar, who is preparing to join the police force, married a 25-year-old man from Nashik.
The marriage was declared invalid as the girl did not bleed after intercourse on their first night and the man rejected her as his wife.
Father Forbid the Girl From Approaching Police
The incident happened despite the girl’s pleas that she was a virgin. She tried to explain that her lack of bleeding could be due to the vigorous exercise she went through in preparation for the police force.
When the girl tried to file a police complaint, her father locked her up along with her mother. He also took away her mobile phone due to the fear of caste panchayat.
Krishna Chandgude, activist of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, said he went to the house and spoke to the girl’s parents to convince her father to file a police complaint.
‘High Value of a Woman’s Virginity’
The girl and the man belong to the ‘Kanajarbhat’ community which has its own ‘constitution’ which is followed rigorously.
Members of the caste panchayat wait outside after the wedding, while the couple has intercourse on a plain white cloth. This is supposedly a ‘test’ to prove that the woman is a virgin as the community highly values it.
Women’s Commission Demands Probe
The Maharashtra Women’s Commission has asked Nashik police to probe the alleged ‘virginity test’ episode in that district and submit a report.
Commission chief Vijaya Rahatkar said that she has asked Nashik police commissioner to make an in-depth inquiry into the alleged incident and submit a report.
The women’s panel intervened following reports that a husband decided to divorce his wife after she failed the ‘virginity test’.
Avinash Patil, working president of the Samiti said Maharashtra was the first state to pass a law against social boycott and illogical justice meted out by such panchayats - the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016, which is awaiting the President’s nod.
If it is implemented, such rituals will be prohibited, he said.
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