Indian sisters to be raped as punishment for brother's crime

Two Indian sisters who were ordered to be raped by a local council as "punishment" for their brother's actions are appealing to the country's Supreme Court for protection.

Meenakshi Kumari, 23, her 15-year-old sister and the rest of the family have fled their village after the order was issued by an unelected, all-male village council. They ruled that the sisters be raped and paraded naked in public with their faces blackened because their brother Ravi eloped with a woman from a dominant caste.

Such village councils, known locally as khap panchyat, have been condemned as "kangaroo courts" by India's Supreme Court, but they continue to operate across the country.

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The family's other brother, Sumit Kumar, said members of the Jat caste were in control of the council. "The Jat decision is final,” he told Amnesty International.

Amnesty has condemned their ruling and is urging the public to sign a petition demanding justice for the sisters.

"Rape is a revolting crime, not a punishment," Amnesty UK's Rachel Alcock told the Daily Mirror. "It's no wonder this disgusting 'sentence' has provoked global outrage.

"These Khap courts routinely order vile sexually violent punishments against women. India's Supreme Court has rightly declared such orders illegal."

Reported incidents of rape in India have gone up tenfold in the last 40 years, with a spate of recent attacks shocking the nation and the world. In 2012, a 23-year old woman died after being gang raped on a bus in Delhi, sparking urgent calls to take action against India's rape culture.