also a matter to be taken into judicial notice by this court that the Kumaris do not
have to involve themselves in “work”. Kumaris are not found to have done “work”
nor have they been engaged in work. The study reports show that the “work” to
be done by the Kumaris is to sit at a designated holy place or “mandap” wearing
a specified dress as the living Goddess during the special religious or cultural
festivals and to accept the worship and prayers offered by the devotees, treating
them as “a living Goddess”. That is to say, Kumari is used to be worshipped with
devotion as an incarnation of Goddess. Because the Kumaris do not have to involve
in work by investing their physical labour, it is not proper to say that the custom of
Kumari is a custom prevailing in contravention of the children’s right granted by
Art. 22, the right against torture enshrined in Art. 26 and the right against
exploitation embodied in Art. 29 of the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063 B.S.
The custom of Kumari appears to exist as an integral part of the religious, social
and cultural rights of the Nepalese people belonging to the Hindu and Bhuddhist
religious sects. Every religion has got its own values and features. For example, the
Christian people celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ whereas the Muslims
celebrate ‘Eid-ul-Fitr’ and ‘Bakrid’. Similarly, the religious followers of the custom of Kumari
celebrate their various festivals like ‘Dashain” by worshipping Kumari as a Goddess. Thus,
the rights available to those girls as per the Constitution and the rights granted by the
international human rights instruments including the Convention on the Child Rights do not
seem to have been infringed just because those girls function as Kumaris. It is a belief
under the Hindu religion to worship idols and various creatures in the form of God on the
occasion of various festivals. Worshipping various Gods and Goddesses apart, in accordance
with our custom, among the Hindus, it has been a practice to worship the elder and the
younger brothers as God on a specific day during the festival of ‘Tihar’. Even dogs and
crows are also worshipped for one day. In the same way, Kumaris are also treated and
worshipped as a Goddess. Thus every religion has got these types of specific features.
Another plea of the petitioner is concerned with the prayer for issuing an appropriate order
for the enforcement of the Kumaris right to get education which has been infringed. Art.7
of the Constitution grants every child the right to get education in his /her own mother
tongue. It has also granted every child the right to get education free of cost up to the
secondary level. Article 28 of the Convention on the child rights has also provided for
imparting to every child primary level education free of cost and made the attendance of
children in school compulsory, thus making higher education accessible. Children’s right to
education is treated as a fundamental and inherent right. Even if there is any belief or
custom or practice prohibiting the acquisition of education, such an approach cannot be
validated. Children are the human resources of the nation. The act of making a nation
developed and prosperous is chiefly a function of the human resources. The children’s right
to education provided by the Constitution cannot be allowed to be infringed in the name of
any custom, practice, belief or conservative approach. No law has imposed any restriction
on Kumaris against getting an education. And since the Kumaris can go to school to get
education, thus this Court could not agree to the contention of the petitioner that the right of
the Kumaris to get education had been infringed.
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