Rising Rape Cases in Nepal. When will it end? #weneedjustice
We’re seeing a significant rise in the crime rate against girls and women these days. Be it rape cases or acid attack cases, women are being terrorized by the culprits of our society. Girls of age, as little as one, are being the victim of this inhumane act every other day if not daily. According to a study, in Nepal, three rape cases are reported every week. Whereas, many more cases go unreported.
Recently, a 5-year-old girl was raped by her home tutor in Biratnagar. Likewise, a few days back, a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped in Bhaktapur inside a parked bus by a couple of bus staff. Only a few weeks back, a 12-year-old girl named Samjhana B.K., from Bajhang was murdered after being raped in a temple. Similarly, you all might be aware of Nirmala Panta’s rape and murder case, which took place more than 2 years back. Nirmala was a 13-year-old girl from Kanchanpur, who was found raped and murdered in a sugarcane field. And many more innocent girls like Samjhana and Nirmala are being victims of the culprits day by day. They are the only few of the cases that came into the spotlight. It aches to even think about other innocent victims whose cases go completely unnoticed.
When news like these comes into the spotlight, the public rightly shows their anger out loud in the streets and social media streams. However, it has not amounted that much. There seems to be no precise justice served to date. As we all say, Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. It is disappointing and shameful to see a case that has been stretching from the last two years has not yet come to a conclusion despite our officials claiming to investigate appropriately. It truly raises questions over the sincerity of the police force and the officials of the country. In the end, a girl has to live in fear because of the incompetence of the laws in Nepal.
The regular outpourings of public anger against the heinous rapes have slowly and steadily shifted the focus from the stigma and shame attached to the victim. The spotlight is on the brutal monstrosity of the rapists and the need to not only duly punish them but also deter future criminals.
The rape cases have been increasing over the years with the previous fiscal year 2019/20 recording 2,144 rape cases and 687 cases of rape attempts. In most of the cases, minor girls were the victims. The news is absolutely disheartening.
During the nationwide lockdown period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 155 cases of rape were recorded with the highest number being 37 in Province 5 alone. There were several cases from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal as well. Most of these incidents were witnessed in quarantine facilities.
As a Nepali citizen and being a woman, it breaks my heart to even hear these kinds of news. It will be no wrong to even say that girls and women are not safe nowadays. However, not only females, but there are also cases where male figures are the victims. Even in modern society that we live in today, people are as close minded as they were before. We, as a society, have to ask the question, “How many is too much?”
Moreover, it is even more sickening to think that in some cases, the victims are the ones who get blamed in the end. “Because her dress was revealing”, “because she has guy friends”, “because she likes to party”, comments like these are made when our society talks about someone getting harassed sexually. This is a sick mentality and people got to stand with the victims and help them get justice.
Lastly, I would like to request all, please do not step back from reporting any incident that does any level of harm to anyone. Stay safe.
Our government is bed