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Karnataka: 3 menstruating women locked by villagers, officials ensure release
According to officials, Gubbi taluk tehsildar B Arathi raided Chikanettagunte village and released the three menstruating women
Bengaluru
Officials, acting on a tip off, raided a village in Tumakuru district of Karnataka and released three menstruating women from a room outside the village on September 16.
According to officials, Gubbi taluk tehsildar B Arathi raided Chikanettagunte village and released the three menstruating women, belonging to the Golla community.
The Golla community in Tumakuru district still practices the superstition of isolating women during menstruation, despite awareness programme and campaigns being conducted, officers aware of the matter said.
“The district administration took the issue seriously and instructed all tahsildars to visit Kadu Golla colonies. Surprise visits will be done to check this practice,” Gubbi taluk magistrate and tahsildar B Arathi told HT. She said that in many such colonies, where women have education, the practice doesn’t prevail. “However, in a few colonies, this practice still exists. We will take stern action against such practice. We are organising awareness campaigns and meetings regularly to eradicate this,” she added.
Officers said that an Anganwadi worker, Sujatha, a midday meal cook Savitramma, and another woman were put in an isolated room outside the village by the community as they were menstruating. It is common practice in many villages where Kadu Golla community are in majority. The Golla community is a backward community in the state which belongs to the Scheduled Tribe category.
The community believes that menstruating women and pregnant women are Sutak (inauspicious) and keeps them away from the village. Pregnant women is allowed to enter the village only after a month, post purification.
On July 26, a newborn infant died due to extreme cold after the child and the mother were kept away by the community in Mallenahalli Gollarahatti village near Tumkur, in a similar practice.
On August 24, Gubbi civil court judge Undi Manjula Shivappa visited Varadenahalli Gollaratti village in Gubbi taluk and rescued an infant and mother from isolation. The judge had urged the family members to allow both inside the house. She also warned the community elders of legal action if such acts were repeated.
