NEPAL: Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to ensure basic healthcare 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 kumaris, 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.
"A directive order has been issued to the government to provide basic human rights, including education and healthcare 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.
Those who support the tradition say parents are free to decide whether to let their daughters serve as kumaris, saying the girls get state allowances and are taken care of well. Nepal this year became a republic after lawmakers abolished the Himalayan nation's centuries-old monarchy.
A former Maoist rebel leader was sworn in as Nepal's first prime minister on Monday.
- (Reuters)