KATHMANDU, Nepal, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court of Nepal says the country's "living goddesses" may have a right to a normal childhood.
The girls are selected when they are 4 and venerated by Buddhists and Hindus as kumari until they reach puberty. Some of the lesser ones are able to attend school, but the most revered are not even allowed to have their feet touch the floor.
The court ordered an investigation into the treatment of the kumari and whether it violates their human rights, The Telegraph reported.
Pundevi Mahajan, the lawyer who filed the case, said she believes customs can be changed to allow the goddesses a more normal life. She, like other critics, says even when they continue their education in the kumari houses they are unprepared to return to the ordinary world as adults.
Conservatives say any changes undercut the tradition. They include Chanira Bajracharya, 13, who ranks second among the living goddesses.
"As a kumari, we are not supposed to be touched by dogs or leather shoes or by menstruating women," she said. "If everything is allowed, and we are allowed to go out, what is the point of being a kumari?"
