This:

And:

By the same reguard - you have to take into consideration that this is a religious practice; akin to 12 year olds becoming alter boys and acolytes, or reciting the blessings during a bar/bat mitzvah, etc.

Hell, do you consider it child abuse for parents to neglect cutting their child's hair if they're a member of the Sikh religion? After all, their schoolmates poking fun might result in drastic psychological problems. /sarcasm

It's all dependent on the culture, and what the child is brought up to believe. To say anything otherwise (when the practice is obviously not causing physical harm) is pure ignorance.

Being brought up to believe that you are an incarntion of a goddess is (in my opinion)* much akin to being crowned royalty at a school function, captain of a team, etc. It's a position of privaledge and partial authority, and it's temporary. Yes, it may momentarily elevate your status and your self image, but it's temporary. Something to get over.

*again, I said opinion.

I stand corrected. Imagine I used the appropriate word.\

Now that's a fair point on that particular issue. I'm objecting to the offensive and narrow-minded ridicule of two ancient religions based upon what they've read in this article. I'm also willing to bet that the objection to the practice was not based on their knowledge that movement you've mentioned.

Also, while it's also not ideal to take these kids out of school, It's also not tantamount to a backwards nation with a silly religion and barbarous culture punishing women. Kids are taken out of school to play football or a vareity of other reasons in this country. So lets drop the superiority kick before we get carried away.

Part of the reason why this film was created, is because there is such controversy over the treatment of these children, the documentary team wanted to capture the beauty of the tradition before it is lost completely.

I don't know much about the issue, but from what I've read, part of the 'abuse' argument is that from the age of four these children are
- allowed only a small amount of pre-chosen playmates
- not allowed outside except for special occasions when they are 'paraded'
- have a loss of freedom, in what they can wear, eat, where they can and can't go and who they see.

Also, there is a belief that any man who marries these girls will die at a young age, so they very often have a difficult adulthood as no man wants to marry them. This leads to various stigmas and financial difficulties, as well as the emotional issues.

Interesting, I wonder how it affects the whole dharma, kharma as far as the reincarnation goes? Maybe she'll come back as the goddess of vengeance.


Just think of the stories she can tell her grandchildren. " When I was your age, I was to busy to clean my room. I was busy fighting evil demons and spirits."

Are those kiddy beauty pageants still going on in the US?

Although it drives me nuts, as a linguist, I have to recognize the legitimacy of semantic drift as a motivator for linguistic change. It just doesn't mean I have to like it.

Which makes me kind of reactionary in that.

Those are fair objections, and you're probably right about the way G93 was reacting.

Well, as a highly committed atheist, I'd regard that as debatable, but I certainly agree that there's no point in degrading the discourse with unnecessary insults and contempt.

This is exactly my point.

So, what. . . they're basically treated in the exact same fashion as most royalty in the world? Minus that whole "husbands die early" thing, of course. Hmmmm. . . .

Traditionally, the Kumari Devi did not receive an education - she was a goddess, so why would she need one? - but during the 1990s that practice changed, and a few hours are now set aside each day so that the Kumari Devi can receive tutoring. Even the people who argue for making education available to the girls (the lawyer quoted in your link, for example) are usually asking for reform - not abolition - of the tradition.

As for attacks upon the tradition itself, keep in mind that the role of Nepal's monarchy has been pretty hotly contested in the political arena during recent years. The King seeks the blessings of the Kumari Devi annually, and the monarchy derives some of its spiritual legitimacy from the practice, so attacks directed at it should probably be evaluated in a broader context than just "won't somebody think of the children?"

There are problems with it - it's not a completely harmless tradition (the most legitimate objection I've seen to it is the interruption of education, but the marital thing is also fairly serious in a traditional society). From the article I cited:

Yeah, I noticed that. I'm not really advocating for its abolition either. I'm fairly indifferent to it, actually.

I just wanted to point out that there really is a controversy and it's not just being made up by smug Western loudmouths.

Well, the King pretty much sucks, you have to admit. I mean, you can probably guess where my sympathies lie in the civil war. Inasmuch as they lie with anybody, at least.

True, but most of the past Kumaris seem to have found husbands anyway.

Also, they receive a pension from the government - according to Wikipedia, 6,000 rupees per month, which is a pretty reasonable sum.

Honestly though, this is a matter of culture. The post I have on page 2 speaks more to that (well, more or less). You're being raised as a goddess incarnate. A goddess. How many of these girls would you suppose are torn up over the matter?




At the same time, however. . . I can definitely see how this has become an issue in the country at hand, considering how Nepal has been struggling to modernize itself more over the past decade.

If you read the article I posted, you'd see it's very few. As I say, I was pointing out that there's a legitimate controversy about the practice within their culture. I'm not taking a side one way or the other.

Don't get all reactionary, now.

I agree.
I was just looking for what exactly the argument is, with regards to 'abuse'. I can't actually find anything specific, just vague references saying 'some groups argue this is against Nepalese policies on childrens rights'.
The government did agree last year that there were some problems with how these girls are treated once they no longer have the title, hence the 'pension'.

Hence my edit, darling.

I'll show you reactionary. . . .