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Witch-Hunting in Eastern India, Activists Fight Back
Elina Horo sits at her desk, combing through the pages of notes written in Hindi that recount the most recent killings.
Horo, who is coordinator of the Adivasi Women’s Network, is sharing some of the details of the most recent attacks of witch-hunting in this eastern Indian State. There was the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law killed and buried in a nearby pond after villagers said they were practicing witchcraft. In another case, five women in Mandar were proclaimed witches and lynched in a late-night raid.
Home to 32 indigenous tribes known as Adivasi, India’s Jharkhand State is one of several states where women are often targeted over land disputes and deemed witches, Horo says. Women may also be targeted because they are unmarried or widowed, or outspoken, she added.