Editing Witch hunt (section)

===Indian Subcontinent===
====India====
{{Main|Witch-hunts in India|Dayan (witch)}}

Some people in [[India]], mostly in villages, have the belief that [[witchcraft]] and [[black magic]] are effective. On one hand, people may seek advice from witch doctors for health, financial or marital problems.<ref name="blackmagic">{{cite news|title=Black Magic practices in India|url=http://www.dw.de/black-magic-practices-in-india/a-15969540|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[Deutsche Welle]]|date=23 May 2012}}</ref> On the other hand, people, especially women, are accused of witchcraft and attacked, occasionally killed.<ref name="witchbeaten">{{cite news|title=Village 'witches' beaten in India|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8315980.stm?ls|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=20 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="witchfamilies">{{cite news|title='Witch' family killed in India|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7449825.stm|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=12 June 2008}}</ref> It has been reported that mostly widows or divorcees are targeted to rob them of their property.<ref name="widow witch">{{cite news|title=Bengal tribesmen kill 'witches'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2166856.stm|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=27 March 2003}}</ref> Reportedly, revered village witch-doctors are paid to brand specific persons as witches ([[Dayan (witch)|dayan]]), so that they can be killed without repercussions. The existing laws have been considered ineffective in curbing the murders.<ref name="UN Witch">{{cite web|title=Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights:a review of the evidence|url=http://www.unhcr.org/4981ca712.pdf|publisher=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHRC]]|accessdate=13 September 2013|author=Jill Schnoebelen}}</ref> In June 2013, [[National Commission for Women]] (NCW) reported that according to [[National Crime Records Bureau]] (NCRB) statistics, 768 women had been murdered for allegedly practising witchcraft since 2008 and announced plans for newer laws.<ref name="NCW Witch">{{cite news|title=NCW demands stringent law against witch-hunts|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/ncw-demands-stringent-law-against-witchhunts/article4779831.ece|accessdate=14 September 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=4 June 2013}}</ref>

=====Recent cases=====
Between 2001 and 2006, an estimated 300 people were killed in the state of [[Assam]].<ref name=assam300>{{cite news|title=Killing of women, child "witches" on rise, U.N. told|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-witchcraft-idUSTRE58M4Q820090923|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|date=23 September 2009}}</ref> Between 2005 and 2010, about 35 witchcraft related murders reportedly took place in [[Odisha]]'s [[Sundergarh district]].<ref name="orissa witch">{{cite news|title=Witch Killings in Orissa District Cause Concern|url=http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=705806|newspaper=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]|date=21 December 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=12 September 2021|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202175052/http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=705806}}</ref> In October 2003, three women were branded as witch and humiliated, afterwards they all committed suicide in Kamalpura village in [[Muzaffarpur district]] in [[Bihar]].<ref name="witch suicide">{{cite news|title=Three 'witches' kill themselves|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3211535.stm|accessdate=13 September 2013|date=24 October 2003}}</ref> In August 2013, a couple were hacked to death by a group of people in [[Kokrajhar district]] in Assam.<ref name=assamwitch>{{cite news|title=In Assam, a rising trend of murders on allegations of witchcraft|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-assam-a-rising-trend-of-murders-on-allegations-of-witchcraft-414016|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[NDTV]]|date=4 September 2013}}</ref> In September 2013, in the [[Jashpur district]] of [[Chhattisgarh]], a woman was murdered and her daughter was raped on the allegation that they were practising black magic.<ref name=jashpur>{{cite news|title=Girl raped, mom killed for her alleged indulgence in black magic in Chhattisgarh|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-03/raipur/41725310_1_black-magic-jharkhand-jashpur|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906085820/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-03/raipur/41725310_1_black-magic-jharkhand-jashpur|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 September 2013|accessdate=13 September 2013|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=3 September 2013}}</ref>

A 2010 estimate places the number of women killed as witches in India at between 150 and 200 per year, or a total of 2,500 in the period of 1995 to 2009.<ref>''[[The Hindu]]'', [http://www.thehindu.com/news/article533407.ece Nearly 200 women killed every year after being branded witches], 26 July 2010. ''[[Herald Sun]]'',
[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/witches-killed-in-india-each-year-report/story-e6frf7jx-1225897181523 200 'witches' killed in India each year – report], 26 July 2010.</ref> The lynchings are particularly common in the poor [[North India|northern states]] of [[Jharkhand]],<ref>A Jharkhand case publicized in international media in 2009 concerned five Muslim women. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8315980.stm BBC News], 30 October 2009.</ref> [[Bihar]] and the [[Central India|central state]] of [[Chhattisgarh]].
Witch hunts are also taking place among the tea garden workers in [[Jalpaiguri district]], [[West Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2012/witch-hunts-targeted-by-grassroots-women/ | title=Witch hunts targeted by grassroots women's groups}}</ref> The witch hunts in Jalpaiguri are less known, but are motivated by the stress in the tea industry on the lives of the [[Adivasi]] (tribal) workers.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739149942 |title = Witches, Tea Plantations, and Lives of Migrant Laborers in India: Tempest in a Teapot}}</ref>

In India, labeling a woman as a witch is a common ploy to grab land, settle scores or even to punish her for turning down sexual advances. In a majority of the cases, it is difficult for the accused woman to reach out for help and she is forced to either abandon her home and family or driven to commit suicide. Most cases are not documented because it is difficult for poor and illiterate women to travel from isolated regions to file police reports. Less than 2 percent of those accused of witch-hunting are actually convicted, according to a study by the Free Legal Aid Committee, a group that works with victims in the state of Jharkhand.<ref>[http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/070716/recourse-rare-witch-hunt-victims-in-india Womensnews.org].</ref><ref>Bailey, Frederick George 1994: The Witch-Hunt, or the Triumph of Morality. New York: Cornell University Press.</ref>

====Nepal====
{{main|Witch-hunts in Nepal|Boksi}}
Witch-hunts in [[Nepal]] are common, and are targeted especially against low-caste women.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7241937/Witch-hunts-of-low-caste-women-in-Nepal.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7241937/Witch-hunts-of-low-caste-women-in-Nepal.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Witch-hunts of low-caste women in Nepal |author1=Deepesh Shrestha |author2=in Pyutar for AFP |date=15 February 2010 |work=Telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="whrin.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.whrin.org/nepal-a-study-on-violence-due-to-witchcraft-allegation-and-sexual-violence-2/ |title=Nepal – A study on violence due to witchcraft allegation and sexual violence|date=2013-07-31 |website=WHRIN |access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref> The main causes of witchcraft-related violence include widespread belief in superstition, lack of education, lack of public awareness, illiteracy, [[Caste system in Nepal|caste system]], male domination, and economic dependency of women on men. The victims of this form of violence are often beaten, tortured, publicly humiliated, and murdered. Sometimes, the family members of the accused are also assaulted.<ref name="whrin.org"/>
In 2010, Sarwa Dev Prasad Ojha, Minister for Women and Social Welfare, said, "Superstitions are deeply rooted in our society, and the belief in witchcraft is one of the worst forms of this."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-07/witch-hunt-victim-recounts-torture-ordeal/2580662 |title=Witch-hunt victim recounts torture ordeal |work=ABC News |date=2010-02-07}}</ref>