VOA常速英语2014--India’s Tribal Councils Under Fire After Gang Rape 轮奸事后印度部落委员会遭攻击

 

India’s Tribal¹ Councils Under Fire After Gang Rape² 轮奸事后印度部落委员会遭攻击

WEST BENGAL, INDIA — Two months after a woman was gang raped³ in eastern India at the orders of a tribal court, the Supreme⁴ Court has directed the state of West Bengal to compensate⁵ the tribal woman, saying it failed to protect her fundamental rights. The incident not only highlights the continued problem of sexual violence in India, but has led to increased scrutiny⁶ of tribal councils and the punishments they are said to dole⁷ out.

印度的西孟加拉邦——一个女子于东印度遭轮奸后两个月，奉审判法庭之命，最高法院已指示西孟加拉邦政府补偿这部落女子，说他没能保护他的基本人权。此事件不仅强调在印度性暴力仍是问题，而且迫使对部落委员会加强监督、严惩他们。

Life in the quiet village in the Birbhum district of West Bengal state was shaken in late January after what is said to have taken place in a hut.

一月下旬，发生在小屋子里的事件震惊生活在西孟加拉邦比尔普姆区的宁静村子里的人们。

A 20-year-old member of the Santhal tribe said she was raped by neighbors in the Subalpur village for having a relationship with a man from a different community. Police have arrested 13 men in connection with the attack, including the tribal headman who allegedly ordered the rape as punishment after the woman’s family failed to pay a $420 fine (25,000 Indian rupees).

桑塔尔部落里，一个二十岁的村民说：因为她和一个不同社区的男人发生了关系所以遭隔壁的贾巴尔普尔（赞浦尔）村民强奸。 警察已逮捕与此次袭击事件相关的13个人，包括部落酋长。据说，这女子家里没缴420美元（25，000印度卢比）罚金。之后，作为惩罚他唆使了此次强奸。

Villager Mallika Tudu says she witnessed the proceedings⁸ and that Santhal tribe members were not involved in the decision.

村民马利卡.涂镀说她目睹了事件的进程，桑塔尔部落成员并未卷入判决。

“Santhal villagers were there as bystanders and had no role in the trial," she said. "The political leaders, just to save themselves from trouble, are now putting the whole blame on the Santhals.”

“桑塔尔村民都作为旁观者，在审判中与此事无任何关系，”她说。“政治官员只是明哲保身，而现在全归咎于桑塔尔人。”

Such village courts are not uncommon⁹ in India’s vast rural area, where elders settle disputes and deliver judgments¹⁰ on those accused of violating local traditions.

在印度广大农村地区，像那样的法院比比皆是。那里的长老解决争端，就那些亵渎当地传统的控告进行裁决。

But Nityananda Hembram, a senior leader of India’s largest tribal community says the gang rape was ordered by politically-linked village leaders and not Santhals.

但是，印最大部落的高层领导人尼题阿南达.黑巴兰说轮奸是由与政相关的村官唆使的，不是桑塔尔人。

“They [Santhal councils] have a very high order of a decision-making process," he said. "Their judicial¹¹ system is that they will never give any punishment to the people concerned. They amicably¹² solve the problem.”

"他们【桑塔尔理事会】有很高要求的决策过程，"他说。“他们的司法系统中从未给相关人员任何处罚，他们和平了事。”

Prasenjit Biswas, a professor at North Eastern Hill University in the eastern state of Meghalaya, says tribal councils have been “hijacked” by political parties.

梅加拉亚邦东部的东北山大学，有个叫杜比斯瓦斯的教授说部落委员会已由各政党操纵。

“The identity of the Santhals as a tribe here is under grave threat because the very social order on which this identity is based can be played with by some external forces using their political economic and social influences," he said. "And the influences are so disparaging¹³ that it completely denigrates¹⁴ the tribal social custom and tries to project it as something outdated¹⁵.”

“桑塔尔在此作为部落的认同感受严重威胁。因为这恰好是通过一些外力，凭借一致意见，利用他们政治、经济和社会上的影响玩弄社会秩序，”他说。“这些影响如此蔑视以致于完全诋毁了部落社会风俗并使其成明日黄花。”

Amid the outrage¹⁶ surrounding the gang rape and sharp criticism of kangaroo courts, members of West Bengal’s Santhal tribal community have taken to the streets to defend their traditional practices.

在此次轮奸暴行中，周围的人尖锐地批评非法法庭。西孟加拉邦的桑塔尔部落村民已开始上街示威维护他们的传统习俗。

Demonstrators have called for India’s Central Bureau of Investigation¹⁷ to intervene to determine who exactly was involved in ordering the gang rape of the young tribal woman.

示威者要求：印度中心调查局干预并决定确切是谁，唆使参与轮奸部落的年轻女子的。

 

She was released from the hospital in February and is not expected to return to her village.  The Supreme Court says the tribal woman’s case, which comes more than a year after a shocking gang rape aboard a bus in the Indian capital, is the “epitome of aggression¹⁸ against a woman” and that it could have been prevented.

二月，她已出院，不愿返回村子。最高法院说，接近一年多之前，在印度首都公车上骇人的轮奸事件是对“女性侵犯的缩影。”这部落女子的案件本可以避免的。

1 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

8 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

9 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

10 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

11 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

12 amicably   

adv.友善地

参考例句：

• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The couple parted amicably. 这对夫妻客气地分手了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 disparaging   

adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• Halliday's comments grew daily more and more sparklingly disagreeable and disparaging. 一天天过去，哈里代的评论越来越肆无忌惮，越来越讨人嫌，越来越阴损了。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• Even with favorable items they would usually add some disparaging comments. 即使对好消息，他们也往往要加上几句诋毁的评语。 来自互联网

14 denigrates   

v.诋毁，诽谤( denigrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The line is clever, but it unfairly denigrates the predictive power of stock markets. 话说的很聪明，但却不公平地贬低了股市的预测能力。 来自互联网

15 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

16 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

17 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

18 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。