100,000 people sign petition demanding justice for Indian sisters sentenced to be raped as punishment against their brother

More than a hundred thousand people have signed a petition calling for justice for the sisters

The pair fled their village after an all-male council "ruled" that they should be raped (AFP/Getty)

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition condemning a ruling that two sisters in India will be raped as a punishment against their brother.

An all-male village council has ordered that 23-year-old Meenakshi Kumari and her 15-year-old sister should be gang raped, have their faces blackened and then be paraded naked because their brother eloped with a married woman from a higher caste.

The council called this an eye-for-eye form of justice designed to “avenge the dishonour” incurred by their brothers’ actions.

The girls are petitioning for protection from India’s Supreme Court, backed by a campaign from Amnesty International.

A spokesperson for the human rights group said: “Unelected village councils such as this are widespread in parts of India. More often than not they made up of older men from dominant casts, who prescribe rules for social behaviour and interaction in villages.”

The case has provoked international outrage, with high profile figures including former Queen guitarist Brian May urging people to sign the petition against it. He tweeted: “Unbelievable. How do we combat the mountain of evil in our world? Step by step, stone by stone, day by day.”