Devotees slaughter tens of thousands of animals in Nepal festival

mass animal sacrifice in Bariyapur, Nepal

More than two million Hindus massed in a remote corner of Nepal on Friday for the slaughter of tens of thousands of animals to honour a goddess, defying protests from rights activists.

Devotees turned the village of Bariyapur and its surrounding fields near the Indian border into the world’s largest abattoir for the two-day festival with animals ranging from buffaloes to rats sacrificed.

Parents and their children along with the elderly poured into the village, which resembled a carnival with stalls selling balloons, sweets, toys and religious paraphernalia.

“It has been a grand day,” said head priest Mangal Chaudhary near a temple devoted to the Hindu goddess of power Gadhimai.

“The buffalo sacrifice has ended, but we will continue the rituals with goats and other animals for one more day,” Chaudhary told AFP.

Animal carcasses and severed heads were piling up in the large fields where many devotees were handing over their animals to butchers and others to carry out the sacrifices, eyewitnesses told AFP.

“It is very bloody… you can hear the animals moaning,” said Rameshwor Mehta, 50, who was waiting to offer his prayers.

About 2.5 million devotees — arriving by bus, tractor and other vehicles — have turned out for the festival, according to local government official Yogendra Prasad Dulal, who said it was “impossible to estimate” the total number of animals sacrificed so far.

Worshippers on the first day slaughtered more than 6,000 buffaloes, which were coralled into holding pens in the fields, along with at least 100,000 goats and other animals, head priest Chaudhary told AFP.

Sita Ram Yadav, a 55-year-old farmer who had travelled three hours to attend the festival, said the atmosphere was “like a carnival”.

“I am offering a goat to Gadhimai to keep my family safe. If you believe in her, she grants your wishes,” Yadav told AFP.

Devotees slaughter tens of thousands of animals in Nepal festival – Yahoo News

Indonesia: ‘Virginity Tests’ for Female Police

female police cadet in jakarta

The Indonesian government subjects female applicants for Indonesia’s National Police to discriminatory and degrading “virginity tests,” Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch interviewed female police and police applicants in six Indonesian cities who had undergone the test, two of them in 2014. Applicants who “failed” were not necessarily expelled from the force, but all of the women described the test as painful and traumatic. Policewomen have raised the issue with senior police officials, who have at times claimed the practice has been discontinued. But the test is listed as a requirement for women applicants on the official police recruitment website, and Human Rights Watch interviews suggest it is still being widely applied.

“The Indonesian National Police’s use of ‘virginity tests’ is a discriminatory practice that harms and humiliates women,” said Nisha Varia, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Police authorities in Jakarta need to immediately and unequivocally abolish the test, and then make certain that all police recruiting stations nationwide stop administering it.”

The tests contravene National Police principles that recruitment must be both “nondiscriminatory” and “humane,” and violate the international human rights to equality, nondiscrimination, and privacy. Coerced “virginity tests” can also constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment prohibited under international law.

Between May and October 2014, Human Rights Watch interviewed eight current and former policewomen and applicants, as well as police doctors, a police recruitment evaluator, a National Police Commission member, and women’s rights activists. Interviews were conducted in the cities of Bandung, Jakarta, Padang, Pekanbaru, Makassar, and Medan. All of the women who had undergone the test said it was applied to all other women in their police class as well.

The “virginity tests” are conducted under Chief Police Regulation No. 5/2009 on Health Inspection (Pemeriksaan Kesehatan) Guidelines for Police Candidates. Article 36 of the regulation requires female police academy applicants to undergo an “obstetrics and gynecology” examination. While the regulation does not specify that a “virginity test” is to be administered as part of the exam, two senior policewomen told Human Rights Watch that it has long been the practice. The test is given early in the recruitment process as part of the applicants’ physical exam. Police Medical and Health Center (Pusat Kedokteran dan Kesehatan) personnel conduct the tests primarily in police-operated hospitals. Human Rights Watch found that the examination has included the discredited and degrading “two-finger test” to determine whether female applicants’ hymens are intact.

Indonesia: ‘Virginity Tests’ for Female Police | Human Rights Watch