An Indian woman with 31 fingers and toes combined is suffering stigmatization at the hands of her neighbours and had to resort to staying indoors to avoid being called a witch.
According to the BBC, Kumari Nayak, 63, is set to enter the Guinness World Records for having the most digits in the world – 19 toes and 12 fingers.
She beats previous record holder Devendra Suthar, who entered the record book in 2014 – with 14 toes and 14 fingers.
Despite the fame, Kumari, from Ganjam district in Odisha, India is virtually living a solitary life.
“I was born with this defect and I couldn’t be treated as we belonged to a poor family. It has now been 63 years that I have had this condition.
“The residents nearby, who are too much into blind faiths, believe that I am a witch and keep away from me. They sometimes come to see my condition – but never help.
“I am forced to stay indoors as I am being treated differently which is not a nice way of treatment from my neighbours,”
She is quoted as saying.
Well, not everyone in the community detests her. One of her neighbours who understands Kumari’s plight and sympathises with her blames her fellow neighbours’ resentment towards her on ignorance.
“This is a small village and people here are too much into blind faiths.
“Odisha is a state of blind faiths and hence treat her as a witch. I know that she has a medical problem and has nothing to do with what others believe her to be.
“I feel so sorry for her that she cannot even afford to get herself treated,”
The neighbour said.
Reports say government officials in India heard about her condition and wherewithal to seek treatment, so they have offered her a home and a pension, with efforts to spread awareness among her neighbours.
“We are aware of her situation and have offered all possible help.
“We are also educating her neighbours to treat her with love and compassion and that she is not a witch,”
Said an administrative department spokesman.