KOZHIKODE: The nomads and beggars, especially women, are at the receiving end in the wake of the reports about black stickers appearing on windows of houses and child trafficking gangs operating in the state. Some nomads were beaten up by locals in Malabar on three occasions recently suspecting them to be child lifters. Though the reports were false, the attacks have continued.
On Wednesday, two gypsy women, who came in an autorickshaw at Seethamgoli near Kumbala, were stopped by a mob, alleging that they were child lifters. The police found that the women were poor residents of Bengaluru who had come to Kerala in search of jobs. They had started begging to make a living and were mistaken by the locals as 'child lifters'. A few weeks ago, a Tamil woman was similarly stopped by the locals at Alampadi, and she was later rescued by the police. She was also found innocent.
The women who go out begging with their kids are also facing similar threats, including racist attacks against their complexion. Women's Commission chairperson M.C. Josephine said there was a belief that all the beggars are part of a mafia and that the kids they carry do not belong to them. "There is a misconception that a dark-complexioned person cannot have a fair-complexioned baby. There are instances where these poor women who come with their kids are attacked. Migrant women also deserve justice. The commission will discuss the matter and initiate separate cells for them," she added.
