Tonsuring has been used as a punishment against women for millenia. A woman’s value was linked to her beauty. Her attractiveness was also considered her vice. By removing her hair she was emptied of her worth as well as she ceased to be a bad influence on men. It is used even today.
In a shocking incident from Solapur, Maharashtra, a woman’s husband, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law, shaved her head and eyebrows with a trimmer — leaving her disfigured.
The survivor was beaten, locked inside the house for 15 days, and only managed to escape to her mother’s house later.
The husband allegedly doubted her character after she exposed a possible affair in the family. A case has been registered at Barshi City Police Station, but no arrests have been made yet.
