A centuries-old tradition in Nepal of worshipping a virgin girl-child in a palace as a "living goddess" has been scrapped after it was condemned as outdated by the country's supreme court, which has ruled that the supposed deity must go to school.
Earlier this year, religious authorities started a search for a new Kumari, chosen from a handful of three-year-olds, after it was revealed the current living goddess is going to retire later this year.
However, that process looks as if it will be halted after the country's highest court accepted the argument from a lawyer that keeping a young girl locked up in a medieval palace in Kathmandu was a violation of her fundamental rights.
The court ruled against the rights of the Kumari being "be violated in the name of culture". "There should be no bar on the Kumaris from going to school and enjoying health-related rights as there are no historical and religious documents restricting Kumaris from enjoying child rights," the court said. Some analysts said the court was simply responding to the new political atmosphere in the Himalayan nation under former rebel Maoists, who are determined to end "feudal" practices. Kumaris, revered until they menstruate, preside over many key Hindu festivals in Nepal, drawing thousands of tourists every year. The tradition was begun in the 16th century by Kathmandu's royal ruling class, who believed the goddess would protect them. Her attributes are said to include a voice "as soft and clear as a duck's, the body of a Banyan tree and the chest of a lion". The Kumari was probably doomed the moment the Maoist administration took office. One of the first acts of the Maoists was to end the 240-year-old monarchy in Nepal. It was tradition for Nepal's king to be blessed by the Kumari – whose horoscope had to match that of the monarch. Maoist MPs have described the institution of the Kumari as an "evil symbol" linked to Hinduism's rigid caste system, incompatible with revolutionary socialism.
Some would say a Kumari's life is not too bad: she can eat whatever she likes and act with impunity. Her parents are not allowed to tell her off.