VILLUPURAM: Fake priests taking advantage of women and sexually harassing them seems to be on the rise in Villupuram. Despite the growing trend, public continue to seek out godmen’s help in ‘fixing’ problems in their life.
On May 28, a woman from the district was reportedly abducted, held hostage and raped by a priest in Tindivanam. He had befriended her on the pretext of clearing her ‘astrological problems’.
A few days ago, another woman from Thiruvennainallur was abducted by a priest, whom the victim’s family met a few weeks ago. The man had promised to clear the problems hindering her marriage. “Astrology and marriage go hand-in-hand,” says Govindaraj from Perangiyur.
“In villages, we prefer if our girls are married at an early age. If that doesn’t happen, we approach priests for remedy. We believe that 90 per cent of times, a priest can fix problems.”
“Religious beliefs are staunch when it comes to women’s lives, especially marriage,” says R Kannan, a PhD scholar in sociology at Madras University. “There have been many cases of fake priests cheating people of money, and sexually abusing women. Still, there is no dip in the demand for the services of godmen.”
Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar advices people to be cautious while approaching people providing such services. “It is important that victims report the issue immediately. It’s due to lack of reporting that many such cases go unnoticed, and many others fall victims. People approaching such priests must do so with caution.”
A senior official of the child and women welfare department says the government must also, for its part, initiate an awareness campaign. “Like they did on eradication of child marriage and child labour, they must launch a campaign on this menace,” he added.