Exactly a year ago on this day Nirmala Panta’s mutilated body was found in a sugarcane field – raped and killed. The incident gained huge attention – from protests in Kanchanpur to solidarity in Kakadbhitta. Despite the tremendous public pressure the perpetrator was not caught. The government committed a high level probe to the case which concluded ‘Nirmala Panta’s perpetrator may never be caught because of the inefficiency of the police department handling the case. The report said that in the wake of the incident, ‘the evidence was tampered with, and police failed to conduct an efficient investigation.
While all this was going on – we are sad to report that rapes, incident of sexual violence continued unabated in Nepal. From August 2018 to July 2019, the year that followed after Nirmala Panta’s horrible rape/murder – 939 incidents of rape/sexual violence were reported – and that’s just scratching the surface, because in Nepal, a large amount of cases go unreported. 20 people died owing to their assaults within the year too.
In the week leading to Nirmala Panta’s Death Anniversary, more than 10 incidents were recorded. Below we share a few with you.
July 20: Nuwakot: Man abuses two minors age 11 and 9 years old – victims are siblings
July 20: Kathmandu: Indian national holds girl hostage in apartment
July 22: Jhapa: Two youths rape Indian girl – one arrested, one absconding.
July 23: Chitwan: Youth abuses teenager in a restaurant
July 23: Jhapa: Man abuses teenager
July 23: Makwanpur: 20 year old rapes 61 year old woman
July 24: Kanchanpur: Man arrested for sexually abusing woman
July 25: Kaski: Man holds minor hostage in a hotel room in Pokhara
Note: Selected Incidents/Reports*
The report suggests Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa’s words ring true in our society – ‘that rapes have happened yesterday, rapes are happening today, and rapes will happen tomorrow, as well’.
Well, may be the Home Ministry has raised its hand from the pressing matter of increasing rapes/sexual abuse in Nepal – have you too?
What do you think can be done to decrease the amount of rapes/sexual abuse in our country? Let us know your opinion.
