Nepal Supreme Court Orders ‘Virgin Goddesses’ to School

In a recent post, “A Closer Look at Nepal’s New Democratic Revolution” I outlined some of what the revolution led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) means and provided a sort of annotated bibliography so that people can get a better look at where it comes from and where it is going. I’m posting this article from AFP because I think it sheds significant light on how Nepalese society is now being turned upside down. Karl Marx, in his book “Class Struggles in France“, talked about how proletarian revolution ultimately means eleminating all classes and class distinctions generally, all the relations of production on which they rest, all the social relations corresponding to them, and revolutionizing all the ideas that result from these social relations. In China this has been called the “four alls”. Here is clear example of this in practice. I would also like to refer my readers to Lenin’s “The Attitude of the Workers’ Party to Religion” which talks about how socialists should approach the question of religion in revolutionary struggle. For more on the background of the Nepalese revolution, check out the pamphlet by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, “Revolution at the Roof of the World“.

Nepal court in landmark ‘goddess’ rights ruling

KATHMANDU (AFP) — A Nepali tradition of locking a young virgin girl in a palace and worshipping her as a “living goddess” has been dealt a blow with the country’s Supreme Court ruling she has the right to go to school.

The court said there was no justification for the specially chosen pre-pubescent girl, known as the Kumari, to be subjected to a practice that dates back centuries.

The current Kumari is nine-year-old Preeti Shakya.

The ruling comes barely three months after Nepali lawmakers abolished the country’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy, who received annual blessings from the Kumari in a ceremony designed to underpin the legitimacy of the royals.

The court’s verdict was prompted by a complaint from local lawyers that keeping a young girl cooped up in an ornate but decrepit palace in Kathmandu’s medieval quarter was a violation of her rights.

“The Supreme Court came up with a verdict… asking the government to take action to protect the rights of the Kumari,” Supreme Court spokesman Hemanta Rawal told AFP.

“The court ruled there were no historic or religious documents that state the child should be denied the rights of education, movement etc. She should not be denied these things just because she is the Kumari.”

Furthermore, the “living goddess” concept is facing redundancy given that Nepal is now officially a secular republic run by ultra-leftist ex-rebel Maoists keen to do away with the country’s “feudal” practices.