Forgetting her three hours of tiresome walk from her village, Kanidevi revealed how her neighbors are accusing her of being a witch.
“I can´t tolerate daily verbal and physical abuses. They say I am a witch, a bad omen to the entire village,” said Kanidevi in a choked voice as she talks to police personnel at a community police service center. [break]
Her traumatic moment started on the first week of July when a cow of her neighbor Beludevi Saud refused to give milk.
Beludevi then somehow arrived at a conclusion that Kanidevi cast some evil spell on her cow. From that day onward, Beludevi and other locals started raining verbal and physical abuses on Kanidevi.
As her husband has been working abroad for years, Saud is living with her children.
“I couldn´t bear the torture anymore and had to come here for justice,” said Saud. Later she was suggested to settle the case in the village rather than making a big issue out of it.
Ram Bahadur Sahi of Jukot VDC said that victimizing women by charging them with being witches is common in the countryside of the impoverished district as most of the victims endure the abuses in silence.
But things are changing of late.
Only a few weeks back, the community police had settled a cause related to Lalita Bista of Jagannath VDC-5, who was physically abused by her own father-in-law, Kangshi Bista.
Both parties were summoned at the community police center after the victim side filed complaint about the abuse.
“Kangshi admitted his mistake and pledged never to accuse anyone of witchcraft,” said Sub-inspector, Dhani Ram Panta.
According to Chief of Bajura District Women Rights Platform, Rukmani Shah, women hailing from economically marginalized and underprivileged groups are the regular victims of such social injustice.
“And if she is a single woman than she is more vulnerable,” said Shah. “Sad part is, most of the time the abusers go unpunished in the name of settlement. This is no justice to the victim woman,” added Shah.
Related story
President Women Upliftment Programme inspiring Bajura women to...
