Jugumani Chaudhary, a Nepali Dalit woman aged 30 has decided to go to India leaving motherland forever because she was accused of witch in her village.
Jugumani, from a remote village of Ramshikhar Jhala in Kailali district, some 470 km far-west of the capital Kathmandu, reached this
decision after she was forced to rove around her village naked.
"I'm so ashamed. After leaving my two young daughters in maternal home, I will leave for India together with my husband and two young sons," Jugmani, mother of four children, told Xinhua on Tuesday.
The incident happened on Nov. 8 that the illiterate woman Jugmani was beaten brutally all over her body and made to rove village naked by her in-laws relative.
"When my mother-in-law's brother died, her nephew blamed me of witch and beat me black and blue. My mother-in-laws's nephew and his wife together brought me out of my house and tried to force me to eat human excreta," Jugmani recalled how she was tortured.
There are thousands of Dalit woman in hundreds of remote villages in Nepal who are treated inhumanely and killed in accusation of witchcraft, according to human rights activists.
"These women who are tortured mentally and physically in an accusation of witchcraft belong to socio-economically retarded Dalit community who are considered as untouchable in Nepal," said Durga Sob, President of the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO).
FEDO organized a public-hearing program in capital amid mass people comprising ministers, officials, lawmakers, activists, victims and media persons for "women victimized in accusation of witchcraft" following 16 days international campaign against gender violence. FEDO brought six sufferers as examples who represent thousands of women in Nepal deprived of their fundamental human rights.
According to Sob, the community of Dalit women lack education, health facilities, faces social discrimination, among others. "There are no authorized institutions where these women can complain of violence against them. Eventhough, there are few institutions; these unaware uneducated women do not know how to complain.
"They have lost their hope from administration. Since this is the social crime, the local police also solve the problem with a formal agreement of "understanding" between victim and assailant after which assailants are free to do yet another crime," Sob said emphasizing weakness of justice.
Siya Devi Mandal of Saptari district, some 190 km south east of Kathmandu is another example of victim of witchcraft in Nepal. Siya Devi,
aged 47, is a mother of four children was accused of witch 10 years before.
Her family, living by selling vegetable, are tortured by the village they are living. "None of our village talks with us, neither they touch us.
If any one dies in the village they blame me for it," she said.
She said that because of this accusation, no one is ready to marry her daughter who is now 18 years old.
The fate of suffering Dalit women was made public as the Nepali government declared 2010 as the year against gender violence. The government
has brought various positive programs to control violence against women and to drive campaign for behavioral change in society.
"Until and unless we spread social awareness in remote level, implement the existing laws against gender violence, if we begin to aware people now then the result will come after 20 years, so social development is not easy," Nepali Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Sharba Dev Ojha told Xinhua.
According to Ojha, his ministry under the monitoring of Women Department is performing regular program such as informal education,
vocational training and income generating training, awareness programs, among others for the empowerment of backward women.
These programs somehow have not reached the each corner of 75 districts in Nepal. But are in the process of reaching root level, said Ojha, adding that there has to be coordination between non- governmental organizations and governmental organizations.
Regarding 2010 as a year against gender violence, government is trying to set up an information center in each Village Development Committee (VDC) in 75 districts where victims can complain of their sufferings.
"We are doing our level best to control gender violence and create awareness in public level," Ojha said.