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Society
Girls
First, Goddesses Later
by Sudeshna Sarkar
On August 18,
when Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' - the chief of Communist Party of
Nepal (Maoist), Nepal's former guerrilla party - was sworn in as the
young Himalayan republic's new prime minister, the event was hailed
internationally as the climax to an amazing revolution that had ended
the reign of the 239-year-old dynasty of the Shah kings, once regarded
as incarnations of Vishnu (Hindu god).
Along with that momentous event, Pundevi Maharjan, 30, also quietly
ushered in another revolution in a country that has been ruled by
tradition and strong religious beliefs. The young lawyer has won a
battle against Nepal's famous Kumari tradition, setting in motion a
change that will in future end the myth of virgin goddesses.
"I come from the Shakya Bajracharya clan," Maharjan says. "They are
Buddhists who were also the first inhabitants of the Kathmandu valley.
Though Buddhists, it is the priests of this community who choose the
Kumaris - Nepal's living goddesses."
After the Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world; the Buddhist
shrines of Swayambhunath and Boudhanath; and the Hindu temple of
Pashupati; the Kumari is probably the best known image of Nepal. The
young girl wearing a crown and with a third eye painted on her forehead,
who gazes out impassively from an intricately carved wooden window,
draws tens of thousands of tourists as well as devotees every year.
Regarded as an incarnation of Taleju Bhawani, the goddess of power, as
well as the protector of the royal family, the Kumari was believed to
have divine powers. She is also the only living being before whom the
kings of Nepal bowed in obeisance.
Nepal boasts of 11 Kumaris, who are chosen by priests from the
Bajracharya community on the basis of certain criteria. The chosen one's
horoscope has to be compatible with the reigning king's and she has to
be free from any physical blemishes. The Kumari also has to be a
prepubescent girl who loses her divine status once she begins
menstruation. She is then succeeded by a new Kumari.
Once selected, the Kumari leaves her family to go and reside in the
Kumari Ghar - the palace designated for her in Kathmandu - where she has
her own retinue. She is not allowed to leave the palace on her own and
she must not walk on the ground. The most important of the 11 Kumaris is
taken out in a chariot and has a red carpet placed before her so that
her feet doesn't touch the ground.
"When I was in college, I began to marvel at the Kumaris," says Maharjan,
who had filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court three
years ago, saying that the Kumaris' rights as children had been grossly
violated. "Once they lost their divine status and had to leave the
palace, most found it hard to assimilate. Some had no education and had
to start school at the age of 11 when they were placed in the same class
with five- or six-year-olds. They were also the victims of
superstitions, like the belief that if a man married a Kumari he would
die. But no one ever thought of the trauma a former Kumari undergoes."
Maharjan challenged the tradition, saying that the Kumaris were deprived
of the rights granted to every child under the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child (an international convention that sets out
the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children).
She also argued that the Kumaris were not allowed the right to move or
speak freely. They could not even eat the food they wanted to.
A glaring example of the restrictions the Kumaris suffered is, Maharjan
says, the case of Sajani Shakya, who until recently was the Kumari of
Bhaktapur town. In an unprecedented move, her priests sacked the
nine-year-old after she went to the US to attend a documentary festival
that also screened a film on the Kumaris, including herself. Sajani's
priests said she had lost her holiness by going abroad and eating
"impure" food.
After fighting the suit for two years, Maharjan got a shot in the arm
when she joined the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), a
leading NGO in Nepal that has been fighting for the abolition of
anti-women laws and for protection of women. On August 18, Nepal's apex
court ordered the government to protect the rights of the Kumaris.
"Though the Convention of Child Rights and interim constitution of Nepal
have guaranteed minor girls the right to education and health, only some
Kumaris enjoy these rights," judges Balaram K.C. and Top Bahadur Magar
said. "There should be no bar on Kumaris going to school and enjoying
health-related rights... They should not be treated as bonded labourers
and there should be no restriction on their free movement."
The judges have ordered the government to form a five-member committee
from related ministries that would study the condition of the Kumaris
and submit its report within a year. In addition, they have asked the
Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to draw up a second
committee to recommend schemes for providing former Kumaris with social
security.
Maharjan says she faced ostracism and harassment from her community when
she filed the suit. She was accused of trying to humiliate her own
people and of destroying a tradition that was the backbone of national
culture. "I did not seek to have the Kumari tradition abolished," she
says spiritedly. "I only want it to be modernised and freed from harmful
practices. Instead of being treated like divine beings, the Kumaris
should be seen as cultural icons that are unique to Nepal."
Sapana Pradhan Malla, one of the founders of FWLD and currently a Member
of Parliament (MP), who has been entrusted with the task of drafting a
new constitution for Nepal, says the community should be asked to
modernise the Kumari tradition.
"There are other traditions related to women and religion that are
harmful to women," she says. "Like Deuki (akin to India's 'devdasi'
tradition in which a young girl is offered to a god and who finally ends
up as a sex worker) and Jhuma (the tradition of a Buddhist family
offering at least one girl child to become a nun without considering her
wishes). While the Kumari is not like that, yet, it has to be viewed
with different eyes."
"Nepalis decided to abolish monarchy," says Janardan Sharma, one of the
deputy commanders of the People's Liberation Army, the Maoists'
guerrilla army, who is now a legislator. "We need to abolish all
institutions associated with the crown. There is no need for Kumaris,
Jhumas or Deukis."
But the moderates in the party have decided to skirt the issue for now,
fearing a public outcry. "The Kumari is not just associated with the
king as his protective deity," says Dinanath Sharma, another Maoist
lawmaker. "She is also a cultural symbol."
August 31,
2008
By arrangement with
WFS
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