Nepali women hesitate to file cases against domestic violence

Sufferers of violence against women (VAW) in Nepal are more miserable, as most of them are victimized by their own family members and they feel harder to file case against these family members.

Chankha Saud, a 26-year-old Nepali woman, lamented "I was only 13 years old then, I was forced to marry." She does not have any children though she has been married for 13 years, and neither her husband loves her, she said.

Chankha, a single daughter in her family, only studied up to Grade Three. Her family violated her child rights by forcing her into early childhood marriage.

Marriage for Nepali girls below the age of 18 is considered illegal, but early childhood marriage is still common in remote villages of Nepal. Chankha's bad dreams began when she got married to Kalyan Singh Saud of Darchula district, some 525 km west of the Nepali capital Kathmandu.

Her mother-in-law often beats her, Saud said, showing the wound marks in her body. Last time she was banged by axe which made wounds all over her body.

KATHMANDU, Xinhua