© Kiran Chapagain/Khabar
Sunita Pudasaini, the alleged victim of a brutal beating by relatives who accused her of witchcraft, discusses her ordeal as her daughter listens. The case has prompted the government to consider a new law stipulating tough penalties for false accusations.
Sunita Pudasaini never imagined she would ever again be accepted after being accused of practicing witchcraft in Jorpati, outside Kathmandu.
Now, four months after being physically tortured in March because of the allegation, she has been welcomed back by her community. She is lucky. Often, women branded as witches have immense difficulty overcoming the stigma.
"I am leading a normal life after the incident," the 37-year-old widow and mother of two daughters told Khabar South Asia. "It became possible due to care and love I received from the government, my neighbours, relatives and human rights activists."
The government has paid her Rs 200,000 ($2,259.62) in compensation for her suffering, while public prosecutors have filed a local court case against two of her relatives, said to have been behind the allegations. According to Pudasaini, they beat her almost to death after accusing her of magical interference to prevent another couple - also her relatives - from conceiving a child.
"I had been to the house of my relatives on that day (March 23rd)," she told Khabarr. "The couple was also invited there. They all of a sudden started attacking me physically and caused serious injuries on my eyes.
"They then left me, believing that I was dead."
Having temporarily lost her eyesight due to the beating, Pudasaini said her sight is now returning.
