Nepal, March 7 -- Most rape cases in Nepal are either swept under the rug or hushed up based on 'community consensus'. One of the most haunting examples of this is the tragic July 2018 rape-and-murder of Nirmala Pant. Many governments came and went, political parties made her case a tool to win votes in elections, but the perpetrator/s continue to roam free. In 2021, a similar fate befell Bhagrathi Bhatta, a teenager from Baitadi who was raped and subsequently murdered. The exoneration of perpetrators, often with community backing, has further emboldened such acts.

In a recent case from Siraha, locals called an informal village mediation, panchayat, to 'settle' the gang rape of Rinku Kumari Sada. Instead of immediately taking the matter ...