The humiliating practice of ascertaining the virginity of a bride on the wedding night by a community in Maharashtra is being challenged by their own youth, but it appears that this custom is still a long way from being eradicated.
“What is disturbing is that the Kanjarbhat community members do not live in some remote village where they lead isolated lives but reside in the progressive cities of Pune and Mumbai,” says Vivek Tamchikar, 28, who is a Kanjarbhat and is pursuing postgraduate studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai.
Tamchikar, 28, is spearheading a campaign to stop ‘virginity tests’ for newlywed brides.
Last December, around 35 people met in Pune and that’s how a beginning was made. Coming to their support was the anti-superstition NGO, Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti.
“They got in touch with us to tackle this custom as it was the Panchayat that was behind in perpetuating the practice. Any Kanjarbhat member who violated this ritual was boycotted by the community. That is why it was felt that the issue be tackled through the Social Boycott Prevention Act,” Tamchikar says.
“It continues to be a challenge for us since it is a toothless Act. Our primary objective is to fight against this so-called tradition of conducting a virginity test.” Now a WhatsApp campaign called Stop the V Ritual created by them is drawing support from all quarters. His family is also supportive. with his cousin Priyanka Tamchikar, 26, also joining the protest as she feels “it is important for women to be part of the protest as they are the ones subjected to this test.”
Vivek, who is set to marry in May, told his family that he and his fiancee did not want the virginity test, to which the family agreed. But later, “I believe, my fiancee’s family was being pressurised by the Panchayat.” Such is the power of the Panchayat, and it is time the government came forward with a “powerful legal instrument to stop this practice,” says Tamchikar.
— By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
