Raped minor struggles with cancer

Published On: January 29, 2019 08:06 AM NPT By: Sher Bahadur Jero

OKHALDHUNGA, Jan 29: A 13-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by her own father and abandoned by her mother has been suffering from cancer. After conducting tests in Kathmandu-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, it was revealed that the girl had symptoms of cancer in her right leg.

She was immediately referred to Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital for treatment. However, the minor has been brought to her home district Okhaldhunga as there was no one to look after her at the hospital.

She has been suffering in pain, as she cannot afford her treatment and there is no one to support her to pay for the treatment. It has been three years since her mother eloped with someone else, compelling her two other siblings to live with the abusive father. After being raped by her own father, the victim was living a displaced life. Later she got refuge at Safe Residential Home (SRH), Okhaldhunga.

She had to drop her studies after fifth grade as she could not pay for her school fees on her own. On December 3, 2018 she was taken to Kathmandu for studies by an organization named Women Empowerment and Rural Nepal Poverty Alleviation. The organization had assured to bear all her expenses including the living cost.

However, the organization handed back the girl to Safe Residential Home (SRH), Okhaldhunga after finding about her disease. Dhan Kumari Thapa, in-charge of SRH informed Republica that the victim often complains of pain in her right leg.

“We had at first suspected that it might be because of cold or because she had once broken her leg,” said Thapa, adding, “But her leg stopped moving after she was taken to Kathmandu by an organization.”
According to Thapa, doctors clearly told that the minor has cancer but there is no one to pay for her treatment. “She often cries at night due to unbearable pain and burning sensation in the leg. She can’t move without crutches now,” said Thapa.

Her brothers are living with their uncle, who struggles to arrange two square meals for his family. He has expressed inability to afford the treatment of his niece.