CDHS Partners With Humanists of Nepal

Little more than a year ago, Marani Devi struggled as her neighbors beat her and stuffed her mouth full of feces.

It is the usual punishment for someone accused of witchcraft in rural Nepal, where Devi has lived all of her 55 years. Sometimes these actions are based on a real belief in witchcraft, but often they are used as an excuse to silence women who speak their minds or report harassment or rape.

The Humanist Association of Nepal, or HUMAN, conducted an investigation of one of the most grotesque events of this kind, recorded on Aug. 14, 2001 in the Mahottari district of Nepal. There, more than 2,000 rural Nepalese women were tortured and inhumanly treated in the name of a "witch-identifying ritual." Such hunts are among several superstitious practices, prevalent in contemporary Nepali society, that HUMAN is fighting. HUMAN published their findings and gained a commitment from government officials to combat the witch hunts. As well as making sure the government follows through, HUMAN is working directly to help the victims and reduce future incidents.

At its August Executive Council meeting, CDHS voted to form a Humanist Partnership with HUMAN. Humanist Partnerships are a new project of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). The aim is to promote understanding and solidarity between distant humanist groups and to encourage some financial support for developing world groups. CDHS will send multiple copies of its newsletter to HUMAN and will publish news of HUMAN’s activities. It is hoped that fundraising for HUMAN and perhaps even trips to Nepal will follow.

Larry Jones, former executive director of CDHS, visited HUMAN earlier this year (see July Humanist Monthly for a report of his CDHS presentation about this.) The world’s only Hindu Kingdom, Nepal is an impoverished state of over 25 million people, located in the Himalayan mountains. Larry said, "It is wonderful that CDHS are Partnering with HUMAN. The Nepalese humanists I met were starved for contact with the outside world. This partnership should prove a great boost to their morale."

The Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS), of which Larry Jones is president, is also supporting HUMAN. IHS has given HUMAN grants totaling $16,000 over the last two years. In addition, IHS is paying for a boy and a girl from HUMAN’s youth wing to attend the 2003 international humanist youth congress in Berlin, Germany, this month.

Anyone interested in learning more about Nepal and how to help HUMAN should contact Larry Jones at (518) 432 7820 (business hours) or larry@humaniststudies.org