Teenage girl in India murdered for wearing jeans

Reports of incidents of violence against women in India have taken over the internet during the past couple of weeks after a young woman was brutally murdered by her close relatives and acquaintances, BBC News reported. 

According to the publication, 17-year-old Neha Paswan was allegedly beaten to death by the men in her family in Savreji Kharg, a village in northern Uttar Pradesh, for wearing a pair of jeans.

Neha’s mother, Shakuntala Devi told the BBC that Neha’s grandfather and uncles "beat Neha black and blue with sticks following a verbal spat on the way she was dressed up."

Devi claimed that her father-in-law and others carried Neha in a rickshaw as she fell unconscious because of the beating, saying that they were shifting her to the hospital.

However, Neha's body was found hanging from a bridge over a nearby river the next morning.

As per a senior police official Shriyash Tripathi, four men — including Neha’s grandfather — have been arrested and are being interrogated after they and six others were booked for murder and destroying evidence.

Growing cases of violence against women

Aside from Neha's murder, the report stated that some other tragic incidents from India were also brought to light by videos showing young women being beaten by family members and relatives.

One of these videos showed a tribal woman being thumped by her father and three male cousins in the Alirapur district, neighbouring the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The police sources reported that the assailants justified their inhumane behaviour to be "fair," saying that the victim was "trying to quit her abusive marriage", read the report.

A separate video, mentioned in the report, showed two teenage girls being pulled by the hair and whacked by their family members in a district near Dhar, only for talking to a male cousin over the phone.

Moreover, two more girls hailing from the state of Gujrat were seen being kicked and punched by around 15 men, including a relative, for talking to a boy.

These are just a few of numerous such incidents, which managed to surface, where girls and women are continually humiliated for making their own choices.

According to the BCC, gender activists and campaigners condemn the mistreatment of women and say that apart from making claims and promises, something practical needs to be done for protecting women.