Bride Assaulted, Fined ₹10 Lakh For Failing Virginity Test In Rajasthan

After failing a 'kukdi' system-mandated virginity test, a 24-year-old bride was abandoned by her in-laws. The incident took place in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan.

The family also got the Khap Panchayat involved in the incident, which imposed a ₹10 lakh fine on the young woman and her family members, according to several media reports.

Virginity Test Done After Marriage

Ayub Khan, the police station in-charge, said that a 24-year-old from Bhilwara city was married on May 11 in Bagor. After marriage, her virginity test was done under the 'kukdi' system of her society, which she could not pass it.

Groom’s Family Members Assaulted The Bride

After the woman failed the unreliable virginity test, the groom and his family interrogated her. During this, they found that a young man who lived in the woman’s neighbourhood had raped her before her marriage. When the husband and mother-in-law found out, they beat her and later called a panchayat at the Bhadu Mata shrine in Bagore.

Panchayat Fined ₹10 Lakh

In the panchayat, the young woman’s family members were notified that a rape complaint had been reported to the Subhash Nagar police station on May 18, 2022. However, the Panchayat did not make a decision at that time. But the Panchayat was called once again on 31 May, when they fined the woman and her family ₹10 lakh, which is meant to be used for rituals to "purify" her.

Case Filed Against Accused Family & Khap Panchayat

The young woman and her family filed an FIR on Saturday against her's husband, her in-laws, and the Khap Panchayat for allegedly harassing them for four months for the fined amount.

DSP Surendra Kumar said, "We have registered a case under 498A (coercing a woman to meet any unlawful demand), 384 (extortion), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. The fact that the identity of the victim has been revealed by the khap panchayat is also a crime".

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What Is The Kukdi System Of Virginity Test

This rasam involves a white sheet being placed on the newlyweds' bed the night of the wedding, which the groom's family later checks for stains of blood the next morning. This rasam is an age-old and unreliable virginity test. where Brides are forced to provide proof of their virginity, which is ostensibly proof of their "purity". This ignores the fact that virginity is a construct, and hymen breaking is not related to the act of having penetrative sex. If there are traces of blood on the bed sheet from a “broken” hymen, the bride is considered a virgin. But if there is no blood on that sheet, then the bride is considered impure and generally, the community Panchayat demands more dowry from the bride's family.

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