Rape cases rise in Kohalpur

Women rights activists blame increasing use of social networking sites and careless parents behind growing cases of rape in the district.

KOHALPUR, Sept 14: Cases of rape are increasing of late in Kohalpur of Banke district. A few months after a 10-year-0ld girl was raped in Kohalpur, another 13-year-old girl has been raped a few weeks ago.

The 13-year-old girl was allegedly being raped by her own grandfather for the last three years. She was mentally depressed after the repeated sexual abuse and was subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment. The doctors hinted that she could be suffering from mental trauma due to the repeated rape, informed her brother.

In another incident, a six-year-old Muslim girl from Madanchowk of Kohalpur Municipality-4 was allegedly raped by one of her uncles on August 28. Her uncle took her to his home and allegedly raped her. The victim's mother runs a small shop.

In many of the rape cases, the victim's own family members or relatives were involved, according to police.

According to the figures published by Nepal Police, 1,483 rape incidents took place in last fiscal year 2074/2075. Among the victims 851 were girls. Yet, 261 rape victims were under 10 years of age whereas 590 were aged between 11-16 years.

Women rights activists blame increasing use of social networking sites and careless parents behind growing cases of rape in the district.

“The girls are not safe even in at hospitals, hostels and schools,” Sapana Bhatta, Banke in-charge of KI Nepal said, adding, “And many of the perpetrators are well-educated individuals.” KI Nepal is an organization working against women trafficking and gender violence. “Misuse of social networking sites and uncontrolled access to the internet has also increases rape incidents.”

Insecure within home

A girl from Kohalpur-12 was raped by her own father in the middle of July 2017. Similarly, in same month, another girl was raped by her father while she was asleep.

“Many of the rape victims include those who cannot fight back or defend themselves,” said Basanti Adhikari, a woman leader, adding “We need strict laws against rape."

Police in the district however said they are doing all they can to stop rape incidents and have also been running awareness campaigns at schools. "Whenever someone comes with a rape complaint, we register the complaint immediately and begin investigation," claimed Arun Paudel, SP and chief of the District Police Office, Banke.