In a shameless and horrific incident, a 45-year-old woman was stripped and beaten to death in front of hundreds of villagers in Kintaluru tribal hamlet in Visakhapatnam district. She was accused of practicing witchcraft. The police came to her rescue one day after the incident occurred.

The lady, Mamidi Atchayamma, was accused of killing two youngsters through sorcery at a nearby hamlet. She was dragged out of her home and then tied to a tree. Later the villagers tore away her dress and started beating her up severely. She tried out to reason with the mob and pleaded for her life but in vain. They kept beating her until she was unconscious. The villagers then left the spot assuming that she was dead. When police came to know about the incident, they rushed to the spot and shifted her to a government hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

The issue is that, this cannot be seen as another news article in the newspaper as this is not the first case and obviously will not be the last one. This kind of savage behavior is rather increasing in this highly intolerant and ignorant society which is riding high on myths and superstitions.

Witchcraft is still very much a part of rural India and violence against women, who are branded as witches, continues unabated. Sometimes this violence takes a severe turn and can also result in the death of the women. Many a times the motives for this kind of attacks on women are completely different then what it is thought to be. Greed for property can be one of the reasons behind witch-killings. Widows can easily be made victim to this practice by greedy relatives. Poverty and income inequalities can also be some of the factors. Sometimes when women reject the sexual advances of their male neighbors, then also they are branded as witches. They have to pay this price because they have spurned a man.

Will rural India change someday? Will there be ever any law or body which deters these barbaric people to get rid over these malpractices. We need to have a strong law at the central level which clearly defines punishment for wrongdoers. There should be exemplary punishment for those people who are committing this horrific crime against women. The main stream media is no longer interested in highlighting issues regarding rural women but it's high time that all evil practices in the villages should stop. Four states in India have laws which prevent witch-hunting, but they are still very ineffective to protect the majority of women involved. We need to take up these issues very seriously, as complete empowerment is not possible without involving rural women. It will be a shame for us that even in the 21st century practices like this goes unchecked.

Team MSN She