Kathmandu, Dec. 16 -- year-old Priti from Kathmandu finally decided to leave her marriage, it was not because of bruises or broken bones. It was because of years of suspicion, verbal attacks, and relentless emotional control, forms of abuse she had no language for, and which few around her recognised.

"He always checked my phone, questioned what I wore, and even came to my workplace to accuse me," she said. "I was constantly criticised and made to feel guilty."

When she tried to report the abuse at a police station, officers dismissed her experience. "They said, 'Shouldn't you be thankful he cares?' treating it like concern, not violence," she said.

Priti, who the Post is identifying with a pseudonym to protect her privacy, says her ex...