Meet Beautiful Neha Paswan, The Girl Who Was Beaten To Death For Wearing Jeans In Savreji Kharg- India

Neha Paswan, a 17- year- old girl from Savreji Kharg, a village in Northern India, was beaten to death by members of her own family in mid- July this year, all because she chose to wear jeans. Reports of relatives assaulting women of all ages have been making news in India more frequently than ever before; these occurrences underline the danger these women face even in their own homes.

A Verbal Fight Turns Into Murder

Shakuntala Devi Paswan, Neha' s mother, told several media sites about the tragedy, saying that her daughter had been on a day- long religious fast on the day she was killed.

She' d put on a pair of trousers and a top earlier in the day before going about her daily routine. Neha' s grandparents were unhappy with her outfit and instructed her to change; Neha refused, claiming that jeans were designed to be worn and that she would wear them if she wanted to. The debate developed into actual violence, and only ended when Neha was knocked out by the thrashing she had suffered .

Neha' s uncles and grandfather had beaten her " Black and blue with sticks" over the way she was dressed, according to Devi. Her [Devi' s] in- laws allegedly summoned an autorickshaw and assured her they would transport her to the hospital when Neha passed out from a severe head injury caused by the assault. Because the child' s mother was not permitted to accompany them, she had her family check up on Neha at the local hospital.

Devi' s relatives were unable to locate Neha, but her body was discovered hanging from the Gandak river bridge the next day.

Authorities determined that the rickshaw in which Neha' s body was transported had stopped at the bridge, and that an attempt had been made to push the girl' s body into the river below; instead, the body slid into the bridge' s railings and became trapped there. It hung from the railings until passers- by noticed it and phoned the cops.

Family Members Are Convicted

Neha, 17, was an aspiring policewoman, according to her parents and classmates. She was used to wearing standard jeans and a t- shirt, just like most other youngsters in the country; nevertheless, she was from a small village in the district of Deoria, which is regarded for being one of India' s most conservative and " Backward" districts. Her grandparents had been loud about their dislike of the way she dressed and went to school, and when she refused to give in to their relentless nagging and derogatory remarks, they murdered her.

Following a thorough investigation, police charged ten members of Neha' s family, including her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and rickshaw driver.

While the granddad and driver were apprehended, the rest of the family managed to flee and are still on the run.

The event occurred in early July 2021, and there has been little to no progress in Neha' s case nearly three months later. Despite the fact that the grandparents were apprehended by police immediately after the crime, authorities said they were unimpressed by Devi' s assertions about the murder' s purpose. They stated that they suspected the occurrence was caused by something more serious than what had been reported, but that the family was unwilling to share any further details.

An Endangered Species On The Rise

Neha Parwan' s story is just one of many examples of Indian women' s defiance of the country' s viciously patriarchal society. Most rural Indian women are forced to live with severe restrictions on their clothing and mobility; any perceived transgression is brutally punished, often with no consequences for the perpetrators of the violence.

" It is alarming that in the twenty- first century, we are killing and abusing girls for wearing jeans or conversing on a cellphone, " said gender campaigner Rolly Shivhare. [Patriarchy] is one of India' s most serious concerns. . . "

She then blamed Indian politicians and other notable leaders and influencers who carelessly make misogynistic and s3xist remarks about women for promoting negative ideas that spread across the Indian community and lead to gendered acts of violence.

" The administration says females are our priority and launches elaborate initiatives for their wellbeing, but little occurs on the ground, " Rolly Shivhare is said to have said. In India, there are few shelter homes and crisis centers, and most of them are administered so poorly that no one would want to reside there. Our government must increase funding and ameliorate their situation. The only long- term answer, however, is for girls to become more aware of their rights. "

Unfortunately, raising awareness about women' s rights will be futile unless India' s patriarchal society is drastically altered- one that either reduces women to passive individuals with little to no agency or, like in Neha' s case, severely punishes those who dare to speak out against it.