The weight of patriarchy

Nepali women continue to be persecuted in the name of outdated traditions.

Last year, a video showing four men assaulting a girl in daylight in the middle of a road went viral on social media. As unbelievable as it may sound, it was, in fact, part of an outdated cultural practice of “Taani Bibaha” (dragging a girl against her will to marry) in Bhume Rural Municipality of Rukum East district. The incident is the only case in the district where the police took action against the girl’s abusers when she filed a legal complaint. Often, girls are afraid to question such practices. Even when they dare to register a complaint, seldom are the guilty legally punished as locals and villagers often protect prosecutors in the name of preserving tradition.