Rights of 'living goddess' considered

NEPAL plans to investigate whether a centuries-old tradition of worshipping a virgin girl as a “living goddess” or Kumari has violated the child’s human rights, a senior official said yesterday.

The move comes after Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government to submit a detailed report within three months.

“Such a study will be good for the Kumari system,” said Madhav Prasad Ghimire, the most senior bureaucrat in the ministry of culture.