Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to ensure basic health care and education for virgin girls worshipped as “living goddesses” in a centuries-old tradition in the Himalayan nation.
A few children, some as young as three or four, in the Kathmandu valley are picked by Buddhist priests as kumari, or “living goddesses.”
They are then confined to temples until puberty, visited by thousands of devotees.
Critics say the tradition violates the children’s rights and leaves them unprepared to face real life when they return to their families after reaching puberty.
“There is no historic and religious document that says kumari should be denied their child rights guaranteed in the [UN] Convention on the Rights of the Child,” the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted the Supreme Court decision as saying.
The kumari are part of the culture of the ethnic Newar community, which live in and around the Kathmandu Valley.
“There should be no bar on kumari from going to school and enjoying health-related rights,” the Supreme Court said. “The Kumaris should not be treated as bonded laborers, and restrictions on free movement should not be imposed.”
The court also ordered the government to ensure social security for the former goddesses, who are usually “retired” at puberty.
Three years ago, child rights activists challenged the practice of choosing kumari, saying it infringed on the rights of a child to go to school or play with other children while they assumed the role of living goddesses.
Last year, one of the kumari of the Kathmandu Valley was sacked and replaced by another girl after she traveled to the US to promote a documentary on her life.
“A directive order has been issued to the government to provide basic human rights, including education and health [care] to the child,” Supreme Court spokesman Hemanta Rawal said yesterday.
“This means the child’s rights can’t be violated in the name of culture,” he said. The ruling was made on Monday, he said.
Nepal this year became a republic after lawmakers abolished the Himalayan nation’s centuries-old monarchy. Many cultural traditions are being changed or challenged as modernity gradually arrives in one of the world’s poorest countries.
A former Maoist rebel leader was sworn in as Nepal’s first prime minister on Monday.
The court has ordered the government to submit a detailed report within one year about the reforms and facilities provided to former kumari, as well as existing ones.
Even some Nepali Hindus worship the kumari, who is considered an embodiment of Taleju Bhavani, the goddess of strength.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is giving US President Donald Trump three months before his fellow Americans force him to rethink his stringent global tariff strategy, accusing the US leader of “living in an old world.” In an interview two months ahead of his 100th birthday, the plain-speaking Mahathir said: “Trump will find that his tariffs are hurting America, and the people in America will end up against him.” The US president’s stop-start tariff rollout would impact Asian nations hard, including Malaysia, which faces a 24 percent levy in July unless the two countries can strike a deal. “It’s going to cause
RSS