This 400-year-old custom still forces virginity tests on brides in India

For the past few months, the Kanjarbhat community in Maharashtra has been engaged in a battle that pits tradition against education and fundamental rights against dogged customs.

The Kanjarbhats, a denotified tribe from Maharashtra, practice a custom called ‘gun jiti’. According to the custom, a bride’s virginity is tested by looking for blood stains on a white sheet after the wedding night. The sheet is checked by the family and the groom has to declare before the elders whether the bride is a virgin.

Kanjarbhat lore says the custom was established centuries ago during the nomadic days to protect girls from prying