Torture on Female Prisoners of War: Indian and Global Perspectives

Abstract

This article focusing on torture meted out to female prisoners of war is a detailed account of the various methods of torture used on female detainees of war, either to extract information and confessions forcefully or to take revenge against their men, who may have participated actively in hostilities, from the opposition camps. It is noteworthy that there are secret detention centers operating in different parts of the world where female prisoners may be lodged and subjected to physical abuse, for absolutely no valid reason. Detainees are often not granted Prisoner of War (POW) Status in order to deprive them of their basic rights and subsequently to make them soft targets for torture and inhuman treatment.

This is an area of major concern and therefore, this essay will attempt to analyze the existing scenario of abuse of female POWs, both in India as well as at the International level by finding out the existing laws at the national and international level to counter this problem, the glaring deficiencies in those laws and the role of international organizations to get rid of this problem. The essay will end by suggesting certain remedies for the effective eradication of this long standing issue.

Keywords: Torture, Detainees, Prisoners of War, Eradication