Gujarat High Court #fundie jonathanturley.org

The medieval mentality found in some parts of India was on display in the Gujarat High Court, which asked a rape victim to balance a 40kg rock on her head in order to ‘prove her purity’ and reside with her husband again. It is part of the bizarre ritual called “Agnipariksha,” or “test of fire.”

The woman became pregnant as a result of the rape but was denied an abortion by Gujarat High Court in India. If she passes this “sanctity test,” she would be able to live with her husband again.

The “test of fire” is the traditional way in some areas of India to prove virtue because of the view that a rape victim is considered to be “tainted.” The origins of the test is found in the Hindu poem Ramayana, in which Sita was made to sit in the fire after she had been kidnapped by a suitor.

24 comments

Confused?

So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register. Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.