8 Area: 30,211 sq.km.

8 Population: 15,70,584

8 Literacy Rate: 58.49

8 District: 10

8 Electoral Constituency

(Parliamentary): 12

8 Electoral Constituency

(Provincial): 24

8 Municipality: 25

8 Rural Municipality: 54

8 Total Ward No.: 718

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 271 arnali Province has an- Human Rights Situation in 2019 Kticipated to increase per In this province, 486 people capita income to 2100 USD within were victims of human rights viola- next five years in its Plans and Pro- tion and abuses. During this period grams. It has also planned to be self- 53 people were victims of threat and sufficing in dairy and meat products beatings, 18 of caste-based-discrimi- within three years, and food, fruits nation, four of inhumane behaviour, an eggs within five years. Province 250 of women rights violation, one of has planned to reach each home of ESC rights, 65 in child rights viola- marginalized people of Karnali with tion and 10 women and 21 men were the slogan, ‘Karnali Government in killed, four victims on torture were People’s House, conservation of Op- documented by INSEC. pressed’. Further, there is also plan to launch ‘one home one employment’ programme. The Province has imple- mented daughter insurance policy.

No. of Victims by Incident (In 2019)

By State By Others

272 Human Rights Situation of in 2019 6.1 Dolpa

Total Population 36,700

Women 18,462

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

Phoksundo National Park, Pramod Ku- Below Poverty Level 15,455 mar Yadav (42) was beaten by Devendra GC (35), Mani Krishna Pandey (25), Hari Rawal (36), Dilli Sunar (38), Maheshwor No. of Migrant Workers 447 Rawal (42), Khagendra Bhandari (25) ,Prakash Buda (22). They too worked in the national park. Complaint was filed at Population by Disability 7,458 the District Administration Office (DAO) and they were arrested from the national park. 23 June 2019. He was beaten for not Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 54.15 allowing them to deposit the collected tax amount of Rs. 7,000,000 at the bank since they were drunk. A case was filed against Dependent Population 21,035 them on charge of Public Offense and they were released on a bail of Rs. 2,000 each. here were 20 victims of Human TRights violations and abuses ARREST were documented in Dopla District. The There was one arrest this year. violations included violence against wom- Bharat Pahadi of Kohalpur Municipality- en and children, and an arrest of a sup- 7 was arrested at Shuligard on 7 January porter of the Communist Party of . 2019. The Youth In-charge of the banned There was one reported case of rape and Communist Party of Nepal and was ar- one of sexual abuse of minors. Among rested while collecting donations and Women Rights violations, there was one threatening those that did not comply. rape attempt and six victims of domes- He was released after he signed an agree- tic violence. There were seven victims of ment to dissociate himself from the party caste-based discrimination. at the District Administration office on 11 January. THREAT/ BEATING Conservation Officer of the Shey

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 273 By State By Others ment and education up to the secondary level. The government will deposit Rs. Type of Events 1,000 on first month of their birth and Rs. 500 thereafter until they are 20 years’ Male Total Female Male Total age. For eligibility, parents must assure Arrest 1 1 the government that their daughters will Beatings 3 3 not be married before reaching 20 years, Racial Discrimination 2 5 7 and that they would not discriminate be- Rape 1 1 tween boys and girls. This has promoted Child Sexual Abuse 1 1 girls education. Rights Total 2 2 There was one victim of rape and one of sexual abuse as documented by IN- Domestic Violence 6 6 Women SEC. A 17-year-old boy was arrested on Rape Attempt 1 1 Rights charge of raping a six-year-old girl on 19 Total 7 7 February 2019. The District Court sen- Grand Total 1 1 11 8 19 tenced the boy to the juvenile rehabilita- tion center in Nepalgung. JAIL AND DETENTION The category D District jail has a ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION capacity of accommodating 25 inmates. It AGAINST WOMEN had 33 residents, 20 convicts and 13 un- Rape, Rape Attempt and Sexual Abuse der detainees. The infrastructure was old This year two complaints were and crumbling and both reading and rec- filed at the Women, Children and Senior reational materials were lacking. The jail Citizen Service Center against domestic is to have a new building after June 2020. violence. Both the incidences were re- solved in front of the Ward Chairperson. RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL This year, there was one victims of District Court rape attempt and six of domestic violence The District Court has one judge. as documented by INSEC. It had registered 16 criminal cases (14 decided) and 14 civil cases (4 decided) in Domestic Violence 2019. No case is pending at the court for Kyangju Gurung (28) of over two years. Tang Song-4 was beaten by her husband Phurba Gurung (35) on 2 June 2019. This CHILD RIGHTS beating also broke her hand. She filed a Educational Status case against her husband who was later A total of 4,680 boys and 6,235 arrested. The case was resolved after the girls were enrolled in 2019. The district husband signed a commitment of not do- schools do not have facilities for children ing the same again at the District Police with disabilities. The district is remote Office. and mountainous, and often free-text books for children up to grade 8 are not ALL KINDS OF RACIAL available locally. About 2,000 children of DISCRIMINATION Dolpa are estimated to be out of school. There were six cases of discrimi- The Karnali Province government nation in the district of which five were has initiated a campaign of to open bank reconciled and no action was initiated on accounts for girls to support their enrol- one.

274 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND Right to Food CULTURAL RIGHTS The two rural municipalities of Damage to Property Dolpa faced food shortages in 2019. Mud- Ward offices of 1, 2 and 3 number kechula and Shey rural mu- of Mudkechula Rural Municipality were nicipality face food shortages every year. destroyed by the bomb blast by activists The shortages were caused by the re- of the banned Communist Party of Nepal moteness of the district and the damaged on 8 September 2019. All the documents bridge over the Kanshila River. at the offices were damaged by fire. Similarly, the Nepal Army defused another explosive placed at the entrance of the Municipality -7 on 14 September 2019.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Closed Case Legal Proceeding Total Rape 1 1 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 1 1 2 WOMEN RIGHTS Type of Events Compromise Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Domestic Violence 4 1 1 6 Rape Attempt 1 1 Total 5 1 1 7

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 275 6.2 Mugu

Total Population 55,286

Women 27,261

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

Below Poverty Level 25,784 from Mugu. Among them, two were re- leased after the district court’s order, and the other four were released on bail by the No. of Migrant Workers 699 District Administration Office whereas the remaining two were sent to detention for further investigation. Population by Disability 1,917 District Member of banned Com- munist party of Nepal, Raj Bahadur Bham (Uday), (36) of Soru Rural Munici- Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 51.25 pality- 6 was arrested on 24 April 2019 by the police with the accusaton of illegal collection of donations. By the order of Dependent Population 35,401 the court, he was kept in detention since 22 May 2019. By the end of this year, no decision has been made by the court in his year, INSEC documented this case. T26 victims of Human Rights violations and abuses. There were two JAIL AND DETAINEES vicitms of Child Rights Violation- one Category ‘D’ District Jail has the child marriage, one sexual abuse and six capacity of 15 prisoners. Due to delays victims of Women Rights violation- one in construction of the prison building in rape, three domestic violence, two sexual Mugu, the prisoners and detainees are abuse. From the state’s side, one woman needed to be sent to jails of Jumla, Sur- died due to lack of pre and post partum khet, Dailekh, Banke, and Dang. As the service. jail doesn’t have its own building it oper- ates in the CDO office and due to lack of ARREST accommodation of the prisoners they are This year police arrested eight cad- sent to other districts at an expense on 40 res of banned Communist Party of Nepal thousand to one lac rupees.

276 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL By State By Others District Court In 2019, 28 civil cases were regis- Type of Events tered among which 14 have got the deci- Female Male Total Female Male Total sion and 14 are yet to get. Similarly in a Arrest 8 8 criminal case, 8 out of 11 cases have got Beatings 2 4 6 jhudgements and three are yet to get de- cided. In 21 registered government-led Killing 1 1 criminal cases 8 cases have got the deci- Torture 2 2 Child sion and 13 of them are pending. During 1 1 the two winter months the entitled judge Child Marriage is sent to other nearby districts due to Rights Sexual Abuse 1 1 which none of the cases are decided at Total 2 2 that time despite other workers being Domestic 3 3 present in the office. Violence Lack of Pre and Post Partum 1 1 CHILD RIGHTS Women Services Educational Status Rights All Dalit students studying in four Rape 1 1 local level schools of the district are not Sexual Abuse 2 2 getting to study under scholarship. The Total 1 1 6 6 12 children from the insurgency period Grand Total 1 10 11 11 4 15 who were studying under the scholarship Women, children and Senior Citizens scheme last year, didn’t get to study un- Service Center. There were 15 victims of der scholarship this year. According to beatings, five were the cases of marriage District education Chief Surya Bahadur registration, two were the vicitms of po- Khatri, none of the school-going children lygamy and eight cases were registered are left out from the access of education. under simple domestic dispute. This year 11 children’s were rescued from Among them, 15 cases were medi- various child correction centers of Kath- ated by the police and the remaining 10 mandu who were lured there for good edu- cases didn’t come in contact later. INSEC cation. There are 121 elementary schools documented six victims of women rights and 25 secondary schools in the district. violence, among them three were the Out of 473 entitled posts for teachers, victims of domestic violence, one victim three remained vacant. This year thou- of rape and two victims of sexual abuse. sand hundred boys and thousand hundred From the state’s side, one woman died 47 girls were enrolled in schools. Unavail- due to lack of pre and post partum ser- ability of the child welfare department at vice. In three cases of domestic violence, the four local levels has stopped any sort the victim and the perpetrator are still of program in the districts. together. This year INSEC documented a case of child marriage and sexual abuse Rape, Attempted Rape and Sexual Abuse of a minor. The decisions for both cases A case filed for rape attempt was are pending. later changed to the case against sexual ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION abuse and the convict was given exon- AGAINST WOMEN eration. Even though the two accused of This year 25 cases of violation of rape were lodged with the case in District women’s rights have been registered in court, both were released by the court.

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 277 Domestic Killing destroyed three houses in the Jamagaon Nani Koirala Pandey (27) of Kha- Bazar of Khatyad Rural Municipality- 2 dachakra Municipality-3 was killed by by setting them on fire on 4 August 2019. her husband Laxmi Pandey (35) on 18 The fire which started at around midnight June 2019. He was arrested from his resi- destroyed the house of Khatyad Ward dence on 21 June. The was sent for judi- Chairman Lal Bahadur Malla (37) and cial custody on 8 July. Till the end of 2019 the houses nearby. The adjoining wodden the case hasn’t been resolved and the ac- houses of Padma Bahadur Buda(30) and cused is in custody. Tak Bahadur Malla (38) were also com- pletely destroyed by fire. The fire caused ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND destruction of 20.5 million and some im- CULTURAL RIGHTS portant documents of the ward office have Destruction of Property also been destroyed. An unidentified group completely

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Legal Proceeding Total Child Marriage 1 1 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 2 2 WOMEN RIGHTS Type of Events Legal Proceeding No Legal Proceeding Total Domestic Violence 2 1 3 Lack of Pre and Post 1 1 Partum Services Rape 1 1 Sexual Abuse 2 2 Total 5 2 7 Number of Incidents Type of Events Legal Proceeding Total Killing 1 1

278 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 6.3 Humla

Total Population 50,858

Women 25,025

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

Below Poverty Level 27,962 end-November. The government provides 70 types of medicines free of cost from district hospitals and 35 different types No. of Migrant Workers 682 of basic medicines from the health posts, which were not readily available in the district. The health services in the district Population by Disability 2,411 remain constrained by adequacy of sup- plies and personnel, which is compounded by the remoteness of the district. Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 47.82 THREAT/ BEATING INSEC documented eight cases of Dependent Population 27,016 beatings and three victims of threats. One case involved the threat to the adminis- trative officer of Simkot Rural Municipali- n 2019, 29 victims of Human ty by the ward chair person. The case was IRights violations and abuses reconciled by the District Administration were documented in Humla. There was Office (DAO). Chairperson of Tajakot one Child Rights violation which was a Rural Municipality was threatened by case of rape. Similarly, there were 13 vio- cadres of banned Communist Party of lations of Women Rights, including one Nepal in the case of laying foundation to rape attempt, 11 cases of domestic vio- the road joining inter districts. Further, lence, and one case of allegation of witch- INSEC documented the case of beating of craft. staff of District Court. This has reached There was a severe shortage of ba- the court for legal proceeding; however, sic medicines at over eight health posts other cases of beating were mediated. owing to lack of timely attention by the Similarly, INSEC also documented the local bodies. Adequate medicines were clash of activists of Nepali Congress and not available at these health posts until Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) during the bi-election of in District.

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 279 By State By Others CHILD RIGHTS Educational Status Type of Events Humla has 120 basic schools and 26 High Schools and even though the dis- Female Male Total Female Male Total trict has an annual enrollment campaign, Arrest 1 1 it is estimated that about 200 children re- Beatings 8 8 main out of school. Education is free up to Racial Discrimination 1 1 2 the secondary level, but schools have been Threats 3 3 levying charges on parents under differ- Child Rape 1 1 ent pretexts. Rights Total 1 1 INSEC documented a case of rape in Humla in 2019. Of the five accused Domestic 11 11 Violence of rape, the District Court ordered that For Practicing one be held at the Juvinile Rehabilita- 1 1 Witchcraft tion Centre in , and two were Women Lack of Pre and remanded to judicial custody. Two others Rights Post Partum 1 1 accused of rape had not been apprehend- Services ed in end 2019. Rape Attempt 1 1 Total 1 1 13 13 ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Grand Total 1 1 2 15 12 27 AGAINST WOMEN There were 26 complaints of do- ARREST mestic violence reported to the Women, Police arrested Upendra Rawat Children and Senior Citizen Service Cen- (21) an activist of banned Communist Par- tre at the police office. Four of these re- ty of Nepal (Biplov) on 15 September 2019 lated to denial of marriage registration on the charge of collecting in Simikot, the and citizenship, three of polygamy and District Headquarter. He was kept on ju- 19 of domestic disputes. Twenty-one of risdiction custody by the District Court these disputes were reconciled by the cen- and the case was not adjudged till the end ter. There were 13 violations of Women of the year. Rights, including one rape attempt, 11

cases of domestic violence, and one case JAIL AND DETAINEES of allegation of witchcraft. One attempt has a provision for of murder was reconciled by family mem- a category D jail with a capacity of 25. bers. In case of witchcraft allegation, However, it did not have a jail and seven the local level’s judicial Committee and inmates were being held at the detention monks (Lama) reconciled it using ‘Tashi center at the District Police Office. Khada’.

RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRAIL ALL KINDS OF RACIAL The District Court has one judge. DISCRIMINATION It had 48 criminal cases in 2019 of which Hirkala Pariyar (35) of Simkot 37 were decided. Similarly, out of 53 civil Rural Municipality-2 filed a case against cases, the court had adjudged 35. There Baliban Bohora (28) on 19 June 2019 for was one case that had not received a caste-based discrimination that was re- judgement for over two years. One rea- solved locally. Similarly, there was a case son for delay in resolving cases was the of accusation of witchcraft, that was rec- absence of the judge from the district for onciled by the Judicial Committee. long intervals.

280 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND of Adanchuli Rural Municipality on 21 CULTURAL RIGHTS July 2019 and robbed its computer, hard Destruction of Property drives and camera and also damaged the An unidentified group robbed a furniture and documents at the office. Mandhara High School at Kharpunath In a separate attack, an unidenti- Rural Municipality on 29 June 2019 fied group, damaged a relay communica- and took away its doors, tables and the tion tower located at the school premises five computers at the school. Another on 30 September 2019, disrupting the lo- such group attacked the technical office cal communication.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Investigation Total Rape 1 1 Total 1 1 WOMEN RIGHTS Type of Events Compromise No Legal Proceeding Total Domestic Violence 10 10 For Practicing Witchcraft 1 1 Lack of Pre and Post Partum 1 1 Services Rape Attempt 1 1 Total 11 2 13

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 281 6.4 Jumla

Total Population 1,08,921

Women 54,023

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

Below Poverty Level 52,602 JAIL AND DETENTION Jumla has a category E jail with capacity for accommodating 120 males No. of Migrant Workers 1,463 and 80 females. It had 66 convicts and 23 detainees in 2019. There are two females and one person over the age of 65 years. Population by Disability 3,248 The prison had a position for a Health As- sistant but it was vacant.

Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 54.66 RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL District Court District Court has one judge. In Dependent Population 61,916 2019 there were 68 criminal cases (29 decided) and 54 civil cases (18 decided). There was one case that had not been here were 18 victims of Hu- decided for over two years. Lack of infra- Tman Rights violations and structures, geographical remoteness, in- abuses documented by INSEC in 2019, of clement weather and staff shortages often which four victims by state and 14 victims caused delays in justice delivery. including 11 female by others. High Court ARREST The High Court in the district has Police arrested three cadres of three judges. In 2019, it decided 20 of 139 the banned Communist Party of Nepal criminal cases and 170 of 589 civil cases. on 22 July 2019 with forms for collecting There were no cases that were older than donations. Two were released on bail of two years at the court. This year targeted Rs.100,000 each by the District Court on aim of adjudgment of the cases was 75% 19 August, and one was released by the and the achieved goal was 71.13 %. District Administration Office.

282 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS By State By Non-State Educational Status Members and supporters of the Type of Events Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) and the main opposition Nepali Congress party Male Total Female Male Total Arrest 3 3 have segregated a school at Banjhgadh the district along party lines. This is one Beatings 2 2 example of political influence in Nepal’s Inhuman Behaviour 1 1 education sector. From 7 September 2018, Killing 1 1 guardians supporting the ruling Commu- Rape 2 2 nist Party of Nepal (CPN) and opposition Child Sexual Abuse 1 1 Nepali Congress parties began sending Rights Total 3 3 their children from the same school to Domestic two different schools. The teachers are 3 3 Violence required to teach at both schools that are Women Polygamy 4 4 run by two management committees. Fur- Rights ther, girl students in the district do not Rape 1 1 enter the classrooms during their periods Total 8 8 and study by staying outside near the Grand Total 4 4 11 3 14 door, or in open classes if teachers move them out to the grounds. Some schools in ing, five related to citizenship certificates the district have hostels for children with and marriage registration, three of polyg- disability and the government has been amy, eight related to dowry, and 40 cas- providing Rs. 4,000 per student staying es related to general domestic disputes. there. There were 6,680 Dalit students Forty Eight cases were reconciled. Eleven receiving Rs. 400 each month as scholar- of the cases were referred to the court. ship, alongside 117 children from conflict- Alcohol consumption, poverty, and unem- affected families. The schools had less ployment were among the major reasons than 220 days of classes, which is the leading to domestic violence. minimum required by the Education Act. INSEC documented eight victims INSEC documented two victims of of Women Rights violations of which rape and one of sexual abuse of minors. one victim of rape, four of polygamy and One accused of rape was sent for judicial three of domestic violence. The court ab- custody following the order of the district solved one of those accused of rape and court. Suspects of one rape case and of sentenced one individual to a jail term of sexual abuse had been absconding in end seven years. 2019. Rape, Sexual Abuse ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Gagan Bista (25) of Patarasi Rural AGAINST WOMEN Municipality-6 was sentenced to seven In all 76 women filed cases of do- years in jail and a fine of Rs.30,000 on 7 mestic violence at the Women, Children March 2019. He was found guilty of rap- and Senior Citizen’s Service Center. ing a 27-years-old woman. Twenty-one of these cases involved beat-

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 283 Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Rape 1 1 2 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 2 1 3 WOMEN RIGHTS Closed Legal No Legal Type of Events Compromise Investigation Total Case Proceeding Proceeding Domestic Violence 1 1 1 3 Polygamy 2 1 1 4 Rape 1 1 Total 3 1 1 2 1 8 Number of Incidents Type of Events Legal Proceeding Total Killing 1 1

284 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 6.5 Kalikot

Total Population 1,36,948

Women 68,115

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

BEATING/ THREAT Below Poverty Level 78,749 INSEC documented one victim of threat by a non-state party and two cases where individuals were threatened by No. of Migrant Workers 2,096 state agencies. Rupendra Aidi (34), a jour- nalist, from Municipality-8 and Kali Bahadur Mahatara (36) of Pachal Population by Disability 5,262 Jharana Municipality -2 were threatened of an “encounter” by police on suspicion of involvement in activities of the banned Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 56.83 Communist Party of Nepal. The threat was reported to the NHRC as well as the Home Ministry. Dependent Population 20,912 ARREST INSEC documented arrest of three n 2019 there were 39 victims of cadres of banned Communist Party of Ne- Human Rights violations and I pal. Out of them two were later released abuses documented in . in front of a journalist and one Human There were 22 victims of the Women Rights activist. The remaining one was Rights violation, of which three were vic- left on general bail. Karna B.K. (27) from itms of rape, 15 of domestic violence, one Raskot Municipality-8 and Bharat Shahi instance of polygamy, and one attempted (29) of Municipality-4 were ar- rape, one of sexual abuse and one allega- rested on 21 March 2019 on the charge of tion of witchcraft. There were six victims supporting the banned Communist Party of violations of Child Rights, including of Nepal. Among them, Karna B.K. was one of corporal punishment, one case of accused broadcasting news on the the rape and four of sexual abuse. party’s activities and Shahi of involve- ment in party activities.

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 285 By State By Others CHILD RIGHTS Educational Status Type of Events There aren’t any disability friendly schools in the district. This year 77 stu-

Female Male Total Female Male Total dents from the conflict effected families Arrest 3 3 got scholarships worth Rs 994,000. The Beatings 1 1 1 1 Dalit and disable received free education Racial Discrimination 1 1 till secondary level. Threats 2 2 1 1 INSEC documented six victims of Torture 1 1 Child Rights violation, including one of corporal punishment, one case of rape and Corporal 1 1 Punishment four of sexual abuse. One case of sexual Child Rape 1 1 abuse was reconciled at the District Police Rights Sexual Abuse 4 4 Office. One individual accused of rape was under judicial custody and the person ac- Total 5 1 6 cused of sexual abuse was released on bail Domestic 15 15 by the District Administration Office. Violence For Practicing 1 1 Witchcraft ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Polygamy 1 1 AGAINST WOMEN Lack of Pre and The Women, Children and Senior Women Post Partum 1 1 Citizen Service Center received 39 com- Rights Services plaints of domestic violence. These in- Rape 3 3 cluded reports of beating and expulsion Rape Attempt 1 1 from home (16), one case of denial mar- riage registration and citizenship, eight Sexual Abuse 1 1 cases of polygamy and eight domestic Total 1 1 22 22 disputes. The police reconciled 24 cases Grand Total 1 7 8 27 4 31 and six were under investigation. Among these were eight cases of polygamy, of JAIL AND DETAINEES which five were settled through financial The category D jail of Kalikot Dis- inducements. trict has capacity to accommodate 25 in- This year, 22 victims of Women- mates. However, had 40 convicts and nine Rights violations were documented. Of detainees. There were four women and which three victims of rape, 15 of domes- one year-old dependent child. The pris- tic violence, one of polygamy, and one on lacked basic infrastructures causing attempted rape, one of sexual abuse and much discomfort to detainees. one allegation of witchcraft. The two who were charged of rape were released on RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL bail by the district court. The accused of The District Court has one judge. sexual abuse was made to reconcile in the Of 45 criminal at the court in 2019, 28 community and the one accused of rape were adjudged) and of 85 civil cases 14 attempt wasn’t found till the end of the were decided. The court was not ad- year. equately staffed because of the general tendency among employees to report to remote postings.

286 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 ALL KINDS OF RACIAL ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND DISCRIMINATION CULTURAL RIGHTS Destruction of Property Dilli Kami (57) of Naraharinath-1 Supporters of CPN (Biplov) set filed a complaint against Chan Bahadur fire on the office of Naraharinath Rural Bista (32) and Narendra Bista (28) for Municipality-3 on 25 June 2019. The at- caste-based discrimination on 4 Janu- tackers used petrol to set the office on fire. ary 2019 at the police office. The accused Police said documents and furniture at were arrested on 7 January and released the office were destroyed. Similarly, Jag- on bail. One of the accused had absconded dish Purbe of Palata-9 vandalized Radio in end 2019. Palata FM on 3 August 2019 for allegedly reporting on activities of the rural munici- pality. He was arrested by police the next day and released on bail.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Legal Type of Events Compromise Investigation Total Proceeding Corporal Punishment 1 1 Rape 1 1 Sexual Abuse 1 2 3 Total 2 2 1 5 WOMEN RIGHTS Legal No Legal Type of Events Compromise Investigation Total Proceeding Proceeding Domestic Violence 10 3 2 15 For Practicing 1 1 Witchcraft Polygamy 1 1 Lack of Pre and Post 1 1 Partum Service Rape 1 2 3 Rape Attempt 1 1 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 13 5 4 1 23

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 287 6.6 Dailekh

Total Population 2,61,770

Women 1,34,780

No. of Constituency (HoR) 2

No. of Constituency (PA) 4

Below Poverty Level 93,428 Likewise, there were six reports of racial discrimination.

No. of Migrant Workers 11,221 JAIL AND DETAINEES The category D jail in Dailkeh has a capacity to hold 100 prisoners. Howev- Population by Disability 7,607 er, it had 141 inmates including 110 con- victs and 31 detainees in 2019. The pris- oners included 14 women, one dependent Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 62.47 child of two years, and two males above 65 years of age. The jail also had three inmates with mental problems. This jail Dependent Population 1,37,409 has four buildings with separate spaces for men and women.

here were 69 victims of Hu- RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL Tman Rights abuses were docu- Court has one mented in Dailekh district, of which 40 Judge. The court registered 116 criminal are of Women Rights violation. There cases of which 86 were decided in 2019. were three abductions in the district in Similarly, out of 366 civil cases registered 2019, one female and two males. Simi- the court had decided 221. There were larly, there were 11 violations of child no cases pending judgement for over two rights – six cases of rape, two of sexual years. abuse, and three child marriages. There reported killings in the district, three CHILD RIGHTS males and two females. Of 40 violations Educational Status of women rights, six were cases of rape, This year 1737 received Rs 525 as two attempted rape, two sexual abuse, 13 the scholarship of Dalit, Muslim and mar- related to domestic violence, one of witch- ginalized. Also 29 children from the con- craft allegation, and 16 cases of polygamy. flict victim families received scholarship

288 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 of Rs. 48,000 per year. By Others INSEC documented 11 victims of child rights violations this year. Six Type of Events victims of rape, two of sexual abuse and three of child marriage. The court sen- Female Male Total tenced two of the suspects to judicial Abduction 1 2 3 custody, two were found not guilty, and Beatings 2 2 others were released on bail. In the case Killing 2 3 5 of minors, they were handed over to the Racial Discrimination 2 4 6 custody of their guardians. Among those Threats 1 1 2 arrested was a 11-year-old boy who was Child Marriage 2 1 3 accused of raping a seven-years-old girl. The case was under police investigation Child Rape 6 6 in end-2019. Rights Sexual Abuse 2 2 Total 10 1 11 ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Domestic Violence 13 13 AGAINST WOMEN For Practicing 1 1 There were 111 complaints of do- Witchcraft mestic violence at the Women, Children Polygamy 16 16 Women and Senior Citizen’s Service Center. Rights Rape 6 6 Among the cases 17 including beatings, 19 Rape Attempt 2 2 cases relating to deprivation of food and clothes, 13 cases of denial of marriage reg- Sexual Abuse 2 2 istration and citizenship certificates, 19 of Total 40 40 polygamy and 43 cases involving domes- Grand Total 58 11 69 tic disputes. Among these, 103 cases were reconciled and eight being processed. Brindasaini Municipality-3 on 23 May INSEC documented 13 victims of 2019. The court remanded the accused to domestic violence, 16 of polygamy, six of judicial custody and the case had not been rape, two of of attempted rape, and two decided in end-2019. of sexual abuse. One woman was accused of witchcraft allegation. The court sen- ALL KINDS OF RACIAL tenced three suspects of rape to judicial DISCRIMINATION custody, one was absconding, and one had INSEC documented a six victims been released on bail. of racial discrimination including two fe- male and four male in the district in 2019. Domestic Killing In one case, Shova Sunar (33) accused her This year two cases of murder of brother-in-law Dil Bahadur Rawat (56) of women were reported. In one case, the discrimination on 19 April 2019 during suspect was the husband who has been the funeral rites of her mother-in-law on accused beating his 19-years-old wife 3 March. The district court sentenced the which led to her death. The accused Baha- accused to six months in prison and a fine dure Kami (47) was sentenced to judicial of Rs. 2,000. custody pending a final verdict. Another case involved the killing of a 23-years-old WITCHCRAFT ALLEGATION woman who was allegedly killed by Naw- Devisara Jaisi (50) of Dhungesh- al Singh Birakkata (30) while she was wor Rural Municipality-5 Dadaparajul visiting her maternal home at Chamandu was beaten by Nara Bahadur Shahi (36)

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 289 and his wife Sarjan Shahi (34) on 24 Feb- reached the court, the judge ruled that ruary 2019 alleging her to be the witch was not enough evidence to prove accusa- who had caused sickness in the Shahi tion of witchcraft and gave the plaintiff family. The victim sustained injuries on the option to file a case of beating and the head, chest and back. After the case causing injury.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Closed Case Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Child Marriage 1 1 2 Rape 1 5 6 Sexual Abuse 1 1 2 Total 1 2 7 10 WOMEN RIGHTS Closed Legal No Legal Type of Events Compromise Investigation Total Case Proceeding Proceeding Domestic Violence 4 1 5 2 12 For Practicing 1 1 Witchcraft Polygamy 3 2 10 1 16 Rape 6 6 Rape Attempt 1 1 2 Sexual Abuse 1 1 2 Total 4 4 4 23 4 39 Number of Incidents Type of Events Legal Proceeding Total Killing 5 5

290 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 6.7 Jajarkot

Total Population 1,71,304

Women 85,767

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

Acharya (42) the district In-Charge of the Below Poverty Level 64,175 same party. He was treated for injuries at the Primary Health Centre, Dalli.

No. of Migrant Workers 4,174 ARREST Police attested four activists of the banned Communist Party of Nepal, of Population by Disability 6,848 which two were released on bail following court orders. However, police rearrested one of the two who were released by the Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 57.27 court. One detainee was still under inves- tigation in end-2019. Among those released on bail was Dependent Population 98,512 Prem Shahi (27) who had been arrested from Municipality-5 on 15 May here were 45 victims of Hu- 2019 on the charge of arson attack on a Tman Rights violations and tower belonging to Ncell, a telecom ser- abuses documented in vice provider. He was released on a bail in 2019. There were eight victims of Child of Rs. 50,000. However, he was rearrested Rights violation including four victims of from Bheri Municipality-3 on the charge rape and four of sexual abuse. There were of public offence. On 3 July the District 21 victims on woman rights violations, Administration Office (DAO) ordered his including seven of rape, and three of at- release on bail failing to pay which he re- tempted rape and 10 of domestic violence. mained in detention until November. He was arrested again and sent to Rukum THREAT/ BEATING District to face charges he faced there. This year five people in Jajarkot district were assaulted by supporters of JAIL AND DETAINEES the banned Communist Party of Nepal. The category D district jail can ac- One among those assaulted was Niraj commodate 15 inmates. However, there

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 291 to a juvenile rehabilitation center, one re- By State By Others mained in custody for further investiga- Type of Events tion and one was on the run in end-2019. Two suspects of sexual abuse were sen-

Female Male Total Female Male Total tenced to jail terms by the District Court. Arrest 1 3 4 Beatings 1 7 8 Rape and Sexual Abuse Injured 2 2 One among the suspects on a sex- Killing 1 1 2 ual abuse charge was Krishna BK (20) of Rape 4 4 Bheri Municipality -10. He was arrested Child on 23 April 2019 on the charge of sexually Sexual Abuse 4 4 Rights abusing a 14-year-old girl. On 13 Novem- Total 8 8 ber the District Court found him guilty Domestic 10 10 sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment Violence and ordered a fine of Rs. 50,000. Polygamy 1 1 Women Rights Rape 7 7 ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Rape Attempt 3 3 AGAINST WOMEN This year 72 women reported do- Total 21 21 mestic violence at the Women and Chil- Grand Total 1 3 4 31 10 41 dren Service Center. The complaints in- were 41 prisoners and 21 detainees at the cluded expulsion from home (3), depriva- jail in 2019. The jail does not have a sepa- tion of food and clothing (10), polygamy rate cell for females and therefore two fe- (3), denial of marriage registration (2) and males serving jail terms were being kept domestic disputes (54). Police settled 58 at the District Police Office. Overcrowd- cases through reconciliation, 14 remained ing had forced inmates to even sleep in under judicial review and six under re- the kitchen. The jail faced drinking water view at the Center. Among cases forward- shortages but had a library and some rec- ed to court were those of polygamy. reational material for inmates. INSEC documented 21 victims of woman rights violations, including seven RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL victims of rape, and three of attempted Jajarkot District court has one rape and 10 victims of domestic violence. judge. In 2019, the court had 74 criminal Four of the accused of rape were on the cases of which it decided 34. Similarly, run in end 2019 and three were in deten- among 108 civil cases, 51 were decided. tion pending further investigation. There were no cases that had been pend- ing for over two years. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CHILD RIGHTS Destruction of Property Educational Status Unidentified groups carried out an There aren’t any disability friendly arson attack on Ncell tower at Nalgad schools in this district. Comparatively, Municipality-1 20 February 2019. Police enrollment has increased due to availabil- said the fire destroyed seven solar sets and ity of stationeries. wires. In another arson attack, unidenti- INSEC documented eight victims fied assailants set fire to the ward office of Child Rights violation including four Simalgaoun Kuse Rural Municipality-6 victims of rape and four of sexual abuse. on 11 December. The fire caused damages Among them, one was sentenced to jail estimated at around Rs. 800,000. and ordered to pay a fine, one was sent

292 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Closed Case Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Rape 1 1 2 4 Sexual Abuse 3 1 4 Total 4 2 2 8 WOMEN RIGHTS Type of Events Compromise Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Domestic Violence 9 1 10 Polygamy 1 1 Rape 3 4 7 Rape Attempt 1 1 1 3 Total 10 4 7 21 Number of Incidents Type of Event Closed Case Legal Proceeding Total Killing 1 1 2

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 293 Rukum 6.8 West

Total Population 1,55,549

Women 81,596

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

tions, among them most were women from Not Below Poverty Level Dalit and Indigenous communities, and Available often the changes in statements involved out-of-court settlements often induced by Not No. of Migrant Workers monetary incentives. The following sec- Available tions discuss some of the representative cases under the different human rights Not Population by Disability instruments that is the basis for the orga- Available nization of the sections.

CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 62.09 RIGHT TO A DIGNIFIED LIFE TORTURE Not There was one torture incident Dependent Population Available involving two police personnel from Jhul- neta post. The two had detained and beaten Gagan Singh Giri (45) with batons here were 55 victims of Human following a verbal complaint of domestic Rights violations and abuses T violence by his wife. The accused filed a documented in 2019. Rukum (West) had complaint at INSEC and was examined nine victims of Child Rights violation, at the district hospital after release from which includes one child marriage, six detention the next day. A senior police of- rape and two sexual abuse. Similarly, ficial reviewed the case and transferred there were 22 victims of Women Rights those involved to a remote location “as Violations including one of attempt to sanction”, and provided the victim Rs. trafficking, nine domestic violence, five 5000 as medical assistance. polygamy, three rape and four attempted rape. ARREST Also observed was a pattern of re- This year 17 cadres of the banned porting of violence and withdrawing the Communist Party of Nepal were arrested charges. According to court officials, 90 at various times in 2019 charged under per cent petitioners withdrew accusa- the Public Disturbance Act. Out of them,

294 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 16 were released on regular bail, and one By State By Others after requiring to pay bail amount. In one case, one accused was un- Type of Events able to deposit the bail amount of 10,000 Male Total Female Male Total and was detained in custody. The police Arrest 17 17 also detained two supporters of the party Beatings 1 1 accused of extorting locals, spying for the Inhuman Behaviour 1 1 party and using school children to paint Injured 2 2 party slogans on the walls. One person de- Killing 1 1 tained was a member of a journalist group Threats 1 1 close to the party. The case was still un- Torture 1 1 der investigation in end 2019. All of these Child Marriage 1 1 cases were adjudicated by the District Rape 6 6 Administration Office (DAO). Those de- Child Rights tained included college students, a school Sexual Abuse 2 2 teacher and members of the party’s youth Total 9 9 Attempt to wing, among others. 1 1 Trafficking Domestic JAILS AND DETAINEES 9 9 Violence The District Jail in Rukum West Women Polygamy 5 5 was overcrowded and detention condi- Rights tions below average. The category C jail Rape 3 3 had the capacity of accommodating 25 Rape Attempt 4 4 inmates but had 116 inmates — 66 serv- Total 22 22 ing convicts and 50 detainees, including Grand Total 18 18 32 5 37 7 women. The overcrowding had caused CHILD RIGHTS practical difficulties such as having to Educational Status take turns to use basic hygiene ameni- School enrollment in Rukum West ties such as toilets and even for a place to was high. The total enrollment in 2019 sleep. One of the buildings of the complex was 25967 boys and 27691 girls. Only also leaked. The jail did not have proper four schools in the district are disabled- water supply, a television set, sporting friendly. Dalit students, 4335 boys and materials or library, nor did it have pro- 4579 girls had received scholarships in visions for skills training. The position 2019, alongside 20 children from conflict- of health assistant was vacant. Fam- affected families. However, some children ily members were allowed to meet those of migrant workers did not attend school serving terms once every 15 days. and some under-age children were em- ployed in urban centers. Education up to RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL grade 12 is free in Nepal but many schools The District Court in Rukum West continued to collect money from guard- adjudicated 133 criminal and 215 civil ians as “voluntary contributions”. cases between 1 January 2019 to 31 De- Rukum (West) had nine document- cember 2019, out of 216 criminal and 402 ed victims of Child Rights violation, which civil cases that had been registered. The included one child marriage, six rape and court has one judge and even though it two sexual abuse. has positions for 37 staff members, 18 of the posts were vacant in end-December Rape and Sexual Abuse 2019. Police arrested a teacher, Prakash Khadka, at Rapti Gyanodaya High School at Sanobheri Municipality-9 on 6 March

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 295 2019 for sexually abusing and attempting includes one attempt to trafficking, nine to rape a 16-year-old student. The accused domestic violence, five polygamy, three had lured the student to join him on a trip rape and four attempted rape. Two of the to the village allegedly to treat a sick buf- accused of rape are under judicial cus- falo and had attempted to rape her. Police tody. One accused had absconded till the filed a case at the District Court, which on end of the year. One accused of the rape 19 March found the defendant guilty and attempt was released after paying fine. sentenced him to two years in jail, a fine of Rs. 20,000 and a Rs. 15,000 compensa- Domestic violence tion of the victim. There were nine victims of domes- tic violence documented in Rukum West. ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Most of these cases were adjudicated by AGAINST WOMEN the District Administration Office (DAO). In 2019, 37 women in Rukum West Police had arrested Tejendra reported domestic violence at the Women Devkota (40) of Musikot Municipality-1 Children and Senior Citizen’s Service on charges of beating his 40-year-old wife Centre. Among them 10 had been beaten Bishnu Devkota on 23 April 2019. Previ- and evicted from their homes, one had ously as well, Devkota was arrested for not been provided food and care, five had beating his wife after drinking and the reported polygamy, and 26 other types of DAO had set a bail of Rs.10,000 and re- violence. The police mediated settlements leased him. This was the second time and in 24 cases, 10 were under judicial review he was charged Rs 20,000 by the DAO. and three remained to be discussed at the Centre. Eight out of 10 victims who had ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND been evicted from their homes returned to CULTURAL RIGHTS their houses. Among six cases of polyga- This year Rukum (West) saw one my, a verdict was reached on one while arson at the Municipality-10 others were under the judicial process. ward office on 24 December 2019 by an In 2019, INSE documented 22 vic- unknown group. There was a loss of tims of Women Rights Violations which around Rs. 200,000.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of Events Closed Case Legal Proceeding Total Child Marriage 1 1 Rape 2 4 6 Sexual Abuse 1 1 2 Total 3 6 9 WOMEN RIGHTS Type of Events Closed Case Compromise Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Attempt to 1 1 Trafficking Domestic Violence 4 1 4 9 Polygamy 1 4 5 Rape 1 2 3 Rape Attempt 1 1 2 Total 1 5 8 6 20 Number of Incidents Type of Events Legal Proceeding Total Killing 1 1

296 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 6.9 Salyan

Total Population 2,42,444

Women 1,26,475

No. of Constituency (HoR) 1

No. of Constituency (PA) 2

Below Poverty Level 69,605 trafficking and five of child marriages and one of sexual abuse. There were also two victims of corporal punishment at school. No. of Migrant Workers 14,213 ARREST Police arrested 18 members of the banned Communist Party of Nepal in Population by Disability 6,233 Salyan District in 2019. One among them remained in custody in end-2019 for fail- ing to deposit the bail amount, while oth- Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 64.04 ers were released on orders of the District Administration Office (DAO) and the Dis- trict Court. Dependent Population 20,174 Police also arrested Padam Baha- dur K.C., (51), a district committee mem- ber of the banned Communist Party of alyan District has very high Nepal with materials used to fabricate child marriage, but it does not S explosives (detonators, fuses, voltmeters reflect in data because it is socially sanc- and a round of bullets for a 303 rifle. He tioned and is largely unreported. District remained in custody in December 2019 for hospital records show over 440 childbirths further investigation. in 2019 by married underage girls. In 2019 there were 72 victims of JAIL AND DETAINEES Human Rights violations and abuses The category D district jail (ca- documented in the district, including 32 pacity 25) had 116 inmates -- 85 convicts victims of violence against women. There and 31 detainees. There were 19 women were eight cases of rape, three of domestic in jail, four minors (two girls and two violence, 16 instances of polygamy, four boys) and one elderly male. The position attempted rapes, and one case of woman of Health Assistant was vacant. The in- trafficking. There were 11 victims of vio- mates had access to some reading and rec- lations of Child Rights, two of rape, one of reation materials.

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 297 By State By Others guilty and one remained custody pending further investigation in year-end 2019. Type of Events ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Male Total Female Male Total AGAINST WOMEN Arrest 18 18 More than one third of all hu- Beatings 2 2 man rights violations in the district were Economic, Social and 1 1 against women. In 2019 there were 72 Cultural Rights reported victims of violations of Human Killing 2 4 6 Rights in the district, including 32 victims Racial Discrimination 2 2 of violence against women. Child Marriage 3 2 5 In addition, 40 women had regis- Child tered complaints of domestic violence at 1 1 Trafficking the Women, Children and Senior Citizen Corporal Child 2 2 Service Center. Three of these cases in- Rights Punishment volved beatings and expulsion from home Rape 2 2 and 37 were about women who had gone Sexual Abuse 1 1 missing. The Center said not all cases Total 6 5 11 were reported as they were reconciled by Domestic the judicial committees at local govern- 3 3 Violence ments. All three cases of beatings and Polygamy 16 16 expulsion were reconciled, and 23 of 37 missing women had come in touch with Women Rape 8 8 their families in end-2019. The court had Rights Rape Attempt 4 4 not decided any case related to rape or at- Women 1 1 tempted rape in end 2019. Trafficking Total 32 32 Trafficking Grand Total 18 18 42 12 54 Police arrested a boy of 18 years and Ramita Basnet (35) on the charge RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRAIL of trafficking a 22-year-old woman along The District Court has one judge. with her son of Kupinde Municipality-3 The court decided 205 criminal cases out on 19 November 2019. Both of the ac- of 403 filed in 2019. Similarly, 127 of 246 cused were from Municipal- registered civil cases were decided. There ity-9 of Jajarkot District. The 18-year-old were no cases pending judgement for over was sent to the juvenile center in Nepal- two years. gunj and Basnet was remanded to judicial custody on 4 December. CHILD RIGHTS There were 11 victims of violations ALL KINDS OF RACIAL of Rights of Children in 2019 (five child DISCRIMINATION marriages, two cases of corporal punish- The District Court sentenced the ment, two rape cases, and one case sexual in-laws of Alisha B.K (20) of Kumakh Ru- abuse). The cases of corporal punishment ral Municipality-6 Chyaukhola to jail for were reconciled. One person accused of discrimination. The victim was evicted sexual abuse had absconded and had not from her house for belonging to a “low” been arrested in end-2019. Similarly, one caste by her in-laws Yuddhabir Rawat person accused of rape was found not (45) and Pimkali Rawat (42). Police ar-

298 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 rested her husband Tikaram Raut (22) In a strike declared by the banned and the in-laws. On 8 July 2019, the Dis- Communist Party of Nepal at the Rapti trict Court sentenced the husband to two Highway, the cadres of the party sabo- months in jail and ordered a fine of Rs. taged a truck and Bolero jeep on 7 March 2,000. The in-laws were fined Rs. 500 each 2019. They also possessed a land of 32,856 and were sentenced to jail for a month. sq ft. that was in the name of Khairabang Temple on 17 August 2019. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND There was an arson attack at the CULTURAL RIGHTS tower of Ncell at Baghchaur Municipal- Destruction of Property ity-5 on 1 August 2019. A solar panel was This year there were two vehicles completely damaged in the attack. The sabotaged and one vehicle burned. There persons responsible had not been identi- was an arson attack at the tower of Ncell. fied in end 2019.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Closed Legal No Legal Type of Events Compromise Investigation Total Case Proceeding Proceeding Child Marriage 1 1 1 3 Child Trafficking 1 1 Corporal 2 2 Punishment Rape 1 1 2 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 1 2 4 2 1 9 WOMEN RIGHTS Legal Type of Events Closed Case Compromise Investigation Total Proceeding Domestic Violence 2 1 3 Polygamy 5 9 2 16 Rape 2 6 8 Rape Attempt 1 3 4 Women 1 1 Trafficking Total 5 2 13 12 32 Number of Incidents Type of Events Closed Case Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Killing 4 1 1 6

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 299 6.10 Surkhet

Total Population 3,50,804

Women 1,81,383

No. of Constituency (HoR) 2

No. of Constituency (PA) 4

Below Poverty Level 1,04,492 lygamy, one case of sexual abuse and one accusation of witchcraft.

No. of Migrant Workers 23,197 CLASH There was a clash between police and Gyanendra Bahaur Shahi (28) while Population by Disability 10,291 he was on a campaign against corruption on 29 May 2019. Police went to arrest him after a case was filed against Electronic Literacy above 5 yrs (%) 73.12 Business Act. Injured Shahi was arrested on the same day. Some police personnel including Inspector of District Police Of- Dependent Population 1,73,258 fice, Niranjan Ghmire (34) were injured. Injured Shahi received primary treat- ment in Karnali Province Hospital and total of 113 victims of Human was later taken to Bir Hospital, Kath- A Rights violations and abuses mandu. Shahi accused Police of tortur- were documented in . ing him. However Police claimed he was The was one case of abduction, seven were injured in the clash. Police later arrested arrests (one female and 6 males) and 10 eight supporters of Shahi on 29 may and cases of beatings. The district reported 12 were under the custody of District Police victims of violation of Child Rights- Seven office Surkhet. All of them were filed a of rape, one of sexual abuse and four of case on 30 May. However, they all were child marriages. INSEC documented five freed by the order of Chief District Officer killing (three females) and two victims of depositing ten thousand penalty money inhuman behavior. Of 76 cases of violence each. Gyanendra Shahi was freed on 5 against women documented, there were June 2019 by the order of Supreme Court. 61cases of domestic violence, five cases Shahi was filed a case by the journalists of rape, four attempted rapes, four of po- of Karnali Province for him provoking against the journalists.

300 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019 By State By Others detainment, and two dependent children one girl child and one boy. The jail had 25 Type of Events female inmates and detainees.

Female Male Total Female Male Total INHUMAN BEHAVIOR Abduction 1 1 Nara Bahadur Gharti (25), of Bi- Arrest 1 6 7 randranagar Municipality-5 also staff Beatings 1 9 10 of Land Office was misbehaved and was Inhuman Behaviour 2 2 black masked by Himal Shahi (28), mem- Killing 3 2 5 ber of prohibited Communist Party of Child Marriage 2 2 4 Nepal on 30 januay 2019 accusing him of corruption. The convict was on run till the Rape 7 7 Child end of the year. Rights Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 10 2 12 RIGHT TO PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL Domestic 61 61 Surkhet has two types of courts, Violence the District Court and the High Court. For Practicing 1 1 District Court has two judges. There were Witchcraft 127 civil and 73 criminal cases that re- Polygamy 4 4 Women mained to be decided in 2019 at the Dis- Rights Rape 5 5 trict Court. High court has provision for Rape Attempt 4 4 eight judges but had only four throughout Sexual Abuse 1 1 2019. I had 57 civil and 134 criminal cases Total 76 76 that remained to be decided. Grand Total 1 6 7 91 15 106 CHILD RIGHTS ARREST This year 4,881 students received Police arrested seven cadres of the scholarships for being from Dalit, Mus- banned Communist Party of Nepal (Bi- lim or marginalized families. Also 345 plov). All of the detainees were released Children from Martyrs’ Family and 314 by the District Court. Those who were children from conflict victim families- re detained said they had not been formal- ceived scholarship. There were more than ly charged and their families had been 20 shelter less children at barred from visiting them in detention. In but nothing has been done for their pro- one case, police detained tection. There are 178 disability friendly Police arrested Siddha Bahadur schools. Khadka (62) of Birendranage Municipal- INSEC documented 12 victims of ity-8 on 26 March 2019 in suspect of being Child Rights violations of which seven vic- involved in activities of prohibited Com- tims of rape, one of sexual abuse, and four munist Party of Nepal. He was kept in of child marriage in 2019. One of those ac- custody in District Police Office, Surkhet. cused of rape was a minor and was sent to He was later released after deposiring an the Juvenile Rehabilitation Centre, with amount of Rupees 15000. a sentence of a life term. The 18-year-old was found guilty JAIL AND DETAINEES of luring a disabled nine-year-old girl and The district has a category E pris- raping her. The court handed down the on with a capacity of holding 25. But it sentence on 24 November 2019, including had 253 inmates -- 162 convicts, 89 under a compensation of Rs. 25,000.

Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 301 ALL KINDS OF DISCRIMINATION Domestic Killing AGAINST WOMEN Pabisara Pulami (45) of Lekbesi The Women, Children and Senior Municipality-8 was murdered by her hus- Citizen Service Center registered 476 cas- band Dhanbahaur Pulami (47) using iron es of domestic violence in 2019 – 90 in- rod on 7 March 2019. She was attacked volved beating and expulsion from home, by her husband with mental disorder over 82 of deprivation of food and clothes, 16 domestic dispute. He hanged himself af- related to citizenship and marriage reg- ter he murdered his wife. Both were tak- istration, 64 of polygamy, and 214 cases en to Karnali Provincial Hospital for post of minor domestic disputes. The police mortem and had their final ritual the next reconciled 213 of these complaints. Even day. though 153 cases were filed, the plaintiffs did not follow up their cases. The remain- ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ing 110 cases were under investigation in CULTURAL RIGHTS end 2019. Destruction of Property Among six cases of rape registered Supporters of the banned Commu- in the district, four of the accused were nist Party of Nepal set a truck and a pas- released on bail by the District Court, and senger bus on fire on 5 Magh and 12 Asar one was remanded to judicial custody. All for operating their vehicles in defiance of of those accused of attempted rape were a strike called by the party. No one was absconding in end 2019. arrested for the attacks.

Number of Incident with Status of Legal Proceeding in 2019 CHILD RIGHTS Type of events Closed Case Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Child Marriage 1 1 1 3 Rape 1 2 4 7 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 2 3 6 11 WOMEN RIGHTS Closed Legal No Legal Type of events Compromise Investigation Total Case Proceeding Proceeding Domestic Violence 1 29 1 13 17 61 For Practicing 1 1 Witchcraft Polygamy 2 2 4 Rape 1 4 5 Rape Attempt 2 2 4 Sexual Abuse 1 1 Total 1 31 6 21 17 76 Number of Incidents Type of events Closed Case Investigation Legal Proceeding Total Killing 1 1 3 5

302 Human Rights Situation of Karnali Province in 2019