Dhaka: A young Indian woman has petitioned the country’s Supreme Court for protection after she was ordered to be gang raped by a village council.

The case has shone a spotlight on the power held by such illegal village councils in the country’s rural areas, with this incident making waves across India, reported Channel News Asia.

A village council in Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, ordered the gang rape of a young woman from the Dalit caste.

The Dalit caste, meaning ‘oppressed’ in Hindi and Marathi, is the self-chosen name of the people once known as ‘Untouchables’.

The young woman’s sister was also ordered to be raped. Both girls were to be punished because their brother had eloped with a married woman from an upper-caste community.

In India, village councils, known as ‘Khap Panchayatas’, are powerful and deeply conservative. Although declared illegal and unconstitutional in India in 2011 by the Supreme Court, they continue to serve as judge and jury in areas where local governments are located too far away to be effective.

‘These medieval institutions which try and subjugate women are against the basic constitution of India and are also against the dignity of women,’ said Sudhindra Bhadoria, Bahujan Samajwadi Party Leader. ‘I think the government should take strict measures to stop the activities of such institutions.’

The village councils enforce strict codes of conduct, and can be especially harsh toward women.

‘Khap Panchayatas coming up with such decisions should be dealt with iron rod because such decisions take us back into 14th or 15th century and they should not be tolerated,’ said Shobha Oza, President of the Congress Party’s women’s wing.

The ruling Samajwadi Party, or Socialist Party, in Uttar Pradesh has also assured action. ‘The administration would be more vigilant to ensure that there is no threat to the girls’ family and adequate measures would be taken,’ said Gaurav Bhatia, Samajwadi Party Leader.