The Indian girl killed for wearing jeans
Source: BBC
The Indian girl killed for wearing jeans
By Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Delhi
26 July 2021
Reports of girls and young women being brutally assaulted by family members have recently made headlines in India. The incidents have also put the spotlight on how unsafe girls and women are within their own homes.
Last week, 17-year-old Neha Paswan was allegedly beaten to death by members of her extended family in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh because they didn't like her wearing jeans.
Her mother, Shakuntala Devi Paswan, told BBC Hindi that the teenager had been severely beaten with sticks by her grandfather and uncles after an argument over her clothes at their home in Savreji Kharg village in Deoria district, one of the least developed regions in the state.
"She had kept a day-long religious fast. In the evening, she put on a pair of jeans and a top and performed her rituals. When her grandparents objected to her attire, Neha retorted that jeans were made to be worn and that she would wear it," her mother said.
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Shakuntala Devi said their daughter wanted to be a police officer, but "her dreams would never be realised now".
She alleged that her in-laws were putting pressure on Neha to leave her studies in a local school and often chided her for wearing anything other than traditional Indian clothing.
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Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57968350
Neha Paswan liked to wear modern outfits (Rajesh Arya)
Shakuntala Devi (right) is still trying to make sense of why her daughter has been killed (Rajesh Arya)