[Answered] Witchcraft allegations, rooted in caste and patriarchy, are used to repress vulnerable women. Critically analyze the institutional failures and societal reforms needed to effectively combat this social injustice and ensure gender justice.

Introduction

Witch-hunting in India persists as a brutal gendered violence, disproportionately targeting socially vulnerable women. It reflects institutional apathy and deep-rooted patriarchy entwined with caste, poverty, and superstitions in marginalized communities.

Witch-Hunting: A Tool of Patriarchal Control

1. Over 2,500 women killed on witchcraft charges since 2000, per NCRB data.
2. Victims are usually widowed, elderly, single, or socially isolated women, often from lower castes or tribal communities.
3. Witch-branding functions as punishment for non-conformity: women who assert independence, challenge inheritance, or defy social roles.
4. Similar to other gendered violence — dowry deaths, honour killings, or domestic abuse — it is a method to maintain patriarchal order.

Structural Roots and Institutional Failures

1. State Failure and Neglect: Most cases occur in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Assam — states with high poverty, low literacy, and weak public health infrastructure. In absence of scientific explanations, disease, crop failure, or deaths are attributed to “witches”. Reflects Auguste Comte’s “theological stage”, where mysticism dominates due to lack of rational knowledge or state services.
2. Weak Legal Enforcement: States like Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha have anti-witch hunting laws (e.g., Jharkhand Witchcraft Prevention Act, 2001), yet conviction rates remain dismal. Police often label cases as local issues or cultural traditions, and avoid filing FIRs or chargesheets. No national legislation, despite multiple Private Member Bills in Parliament.
3. Patriarchy + Caste Domination: Accusations often driven by land disputes, property rights, or personal vendettas. Dominant castes or men use witch-branding to dispossess women, especially widows, of land. Tribal spiritual systems like shamanism are distorted for patriarchal and political gains.
4. Community Complicity: Witch-hunting is often collective violence, legitimized by fear, patriarchy, and groupthink. Entire villages participate in beatings, lynchings, or social boycott.

Reforms Needed: Legal, Social, Structural

1. Legal and Administrative Reforms: Enact a comprehensive national anti-witch hunting law, with gender-specific provisions and faster trials. Sensitize police and judiciary to treat witch-branding as a serious form of gender-based violence. Mandatory FIR registration and survivor protection protocols.
2. Education and Public Health: Promote scientific temper (Article 51A(h) of the Constitution) through rural science campaigns and school curricula. Improve rural health systems to reduce reliance on superstition during illness or death.
3. Empowering Women at the Grassroots: Train local women’s collectives and panchayats to act as first responders and whistleblowers. Offer legal aid, rehabilitation and compensation to survivors and their families. Secure land and property rights of women through targeted land reforms.
4. Change the Narrative: Public campaigns must reframe witch-hunting from a “tribal tradition” to a criminal form of gender oppression. Promote media storytelling and survivor testimonies to challenge cultural legitimization of such violence.

Conclusion

Witchcraft accusations are violent expressions of caste-patriarchy and institutional indifference. A just society demands intersectional reforms, legal action, and community awakening to ensure safety, dignity, and justice for all women.