In what can be deemed a bizarre yet completely patriarchal notion of justice, a village in Meghalaya decided to punish a woman for a man’s misdeed.
A woman in Meghalaya has been slapped with a fine of Rs. 3000 by her village. Why? Because her ex-boyfriend leaked obscene pictures and videos of her online!
As if that wasn’t unfair enough, the village elders also ordered her to pay an additional Rs. 1,500 to a local club, calling it an ‘atonement’ for her ‘sin’!
The woman’s former lover posted semi-nude pictures of her online when she broke off their relationship.
She had even filed an FIR against the man, one Mansrang Sangma of Gairong village in Meghalaya, on August 30 at the Mendipathar Police Station.
She revealed in her complaint,
“During my relationship with him, he took my video without my knowledge. I happened to see the video and told him to delete it. But he has not deleted the video and the pictures.”
She tried to call him and put a stop to it, but he threatened to circulate them even more.
The Civil Society Women’s Organisation, a rights group, spoke to the media about the unjust penalising of the woman, who is actually the victim here.
According to The Hindu, Agnes Kharshiing of the CSWO remarked,
“Instead of helping her, a victim of cybercrime, the elders of her village summoned her to a community meeting on September 7 and asked her to pay the penalty.”
The local police have reported that the former boyfriend who uploaded the photos and videos has been arrested.
Here’s hoping this doesn’t turn into yet another instance of a victim shaming, and the guilty is penalised, instead of the victim.