UP Man Beheads Sister Opposing Her Affair: Is Rage Greater Than Love?

The severity of crimes against women is just increasing day after day. Every day I wake up to the news women of being assaulted, gang-raped, thrashed, and more. While the country is still reeling over the video of Manipur women being paraded naked and allegedly gang-raped, another news of a young man killing his sister and walking to the police station with a severed head has cropped up on our channels. 

UP Man Beheads Sister

On 21 July, Friday, the man from Mithwara village, Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh beheaded his sister with a sharp weapon following a heated argument and walked to the police station with her head in his hand. Police arrested the accused identified as Riyaz, 22. According to the police, the argument was over her 18-year-old sister's relationship. Reportedly, the deceased recently eloped with her partner Chand Babu. On the woman's family members' complaint, police found the couple and arrested Chand Babu, while sending the girl home. But little did she know that she will be killed right at her own home, just over a relationship.

“In a fit of rage Riyaz picked up a sharp-edged weapon and beheaded her sister before packing her head in a sack and going to the police station,” said ASP Mishra on the case.

We are still recovering from the Nirbhaya case, the Shraddha Walker case, the Delhi Minor Girl Stabbing Case, Manipur's viral video, and now another case of honour killing. The woman was literally beheaded alive. All these cases have one thing in common women and rage. Men show rage and aggressively behave with women when they can't control them.

But how is this rage justified? We are still living in an era where women don't even have the agency to choose a partner. Be it good, or bad, that's whole another matter. A conflict or a breakdown cannot be considered as a motive to kill someone, especially a family member. 

Relationships have now become a factor to ascertain how long a woman will live. Women are at the mercy of men if they stay submissive, agree to men's decisions, and cope with everything that men do without question. But if a woman rebels, disagrees, raises her voice, and questions everything she can't endure, men can't take it and exert power over women through violence. Probably, the result of women's resistance could be death, humiliation, or torture for life.

If a woman like someone but her brother disagrees, kill her. If a woman rejects advances, kill her. If a woman expects loyalty, her boyfriend dislikes it, kill her. If a woman talks to people around her, but her jealous husband hates it, just kill her. If two community fight, but can't win, just humiliate the woman and kill her mentally. This is what we have come to. Cold murders or humiliate women by crushing their souls to show women their so-called place.  

According to the National Crime Record Bureau report, in 2021, police recorded 428,278 cases involving crimes against women. There has been a 26.35% surge in crime cases since 2016. Rape cases, dowry deaths, acid attacks, and assaults have significantly increased. Domestic violence has increased drastically since Covid induced lockdown. 137,956 domestic abuse complaints were reported in 2021, approx increase of 27% from 2016. The commonality in most of these cases is relationships. I don't say relationships are not good but when dominance and aggression take over, nothing can be said. 

We recently celebrated the 75th year of independent India but somehow we are still stuck in the conservative mentality. How long will women suffer this rudimentary mindset?

Suggested Reading: Three Viral Videos Of Teachers Schooling Boys On Women's Issue