An Indian teen was raped by her father. Village elders had her whipped.

[leftynyc]

In a scene captured on a cellphone video, one of the men wags his finger angrily at her. He rages: This girl must be punished.

A villager ties her waist with rope, holding the other end, and lifts a tree branch into the air. She bows her head. The first lash comes, then another, then another. Ten in all. She lets out a wail.

Eventually the crowd starts murmuring, "Enough, enough," although nobody moves to stop the beating. Finally, the man throws down his stick. It's over.

She is 13 years old. Or maybe 15. Her family doesn't know for sure. She has never set foot in a school and has spent most of her life doing chores at home, occasionally begging for food and performing in her father's acrobatic show, for which she is given 20 rupees, about 30 cents.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-india-rape-20160509-story.html?hl=1&noRedirect=1


Even with all the problems (mostly first world problems) in the US, some days I'm so grateful to be living as a woman here in the US - this story makes this one of those days. We must do everything we can, every single day to bring these stories out in the open - it's the only way for them to get the attention they deserve and it wouldn't be the first time things were changed because of shame.

[MariaThinks]

1. This is horrible. I hope they are severely punished.

[malaise]

2. Many children are raped by their fathers, other relatives or strangers right here in our

glorious West. Then the courts make them victims again. Oh great, the village doesn't beat them.

[Throd]

4. And when they are convicted they go to prison for a very long time.

Second post in an we get a "the West is bad too".

[leftynyc]

5. Do let me know

when charges are brought by the "villagers" and the child gets whipped as punishment and the man gets nothing and gets to watch. THEN the situations would be comparable. That children are raped every day all over the world is a secret to no one. And I acknowledged the problems here in the US with my comment so I have zero idea why you felt the need for well, the west sucks also nonsense - in the 2nd comment.

[Bettie]

7. I went to our minister at age 12

because I had been told he could help if there was a problem. That he would help.

He told me that either I was lying or I was "tempting" my pedophile father who had been abusing me since I was three years old.

Then, he called him, told him what I'd said and had him come to get me.

I was forced to apologize and told never to repeat what I'd said to anyone.

My heart breaks for this girl, it breaks for all the girls who live with this.

I hope that living here in the US it is different than it was when I was a girl.

[malaise]

8. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

And the only thing that was different is that you weren't publicly beaten.

Across this planet, life can be very hard for girls, and women of all ages. Sure it is better in some places but I remember that poor woman living in the basement in Austria for 24 years. I will never forget what her father did to her.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritzl_case
This was not some Indian village

You are one brave lady

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. ugh.

:vomit: sometimes india horrifies me and i grew up there. although, i suppose sometimes humans overall horrify me, and i am a human

[malaise]

9. Humans horrify me

across our planet.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

12. "Man's inhumanity to man" is the politically incorrect quote.

[malaise]

13. As Marley put it

Man to man is so unjust
You don't know who to trust

[TrappedInUtah]

6. Horrifying and awful

India as a nation has some very real issues. Particularly gender/class related ones. For them to evolve beyond a third world nation they'll need to evolve beyond this crap.

[smirkymonkey]

10. How sick and horrifying! That poor girl!

I can't imagine what it must be like to grow up female in that culture. I think I would probably kill myself.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Sickening