Orissa villagers protest against inhuman practice (The Hindu)
"Four women were beaten up and another was paraded naked allegedly by a group of 'upper caste' men in the village on September 19.
"'We are not sure when we will be able to return to our homes. We have lost everything,' Sabitri Barik, one of the victims, said here on Friday.
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"The women were abused by large number of men, allegedly from the Khandayat community, because their husbands refused to wash the feet of the groom and guests during marriage ceremonies as per custom.
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"'I am scared to go to my village because the Khandayats will surely attack me,' saidHadibandhu Barik. 'Our children are educated and they are not willing to do the customary job of washing the feet of upper caste men, clear the left-overs after the marriage feast and wash the utensils.'
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"'The local legislators and other politicians do not come to the rescue of barbersfearing the loss of the `upper caste' votes,' said Baghambar Patnaik of the Odisha Gotimukti Andolan, an organisation fighting for the cause of barbers in Brahmagiri, Puri Sadar and Satyabadi blocks of Puri.
"'The district administration has been treating the problem as a conflict between two castes, ignoring the fact that the job assigned to the barbers amounts to bonded labour, and that they cannot be forced to do the work,' he said."
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