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TRAGIC MURDER OF NEPAL WOMEN'S RIGHTS DEFENDER LAXMI BOHARA

In June of 2008, Laxmi Bohara died, allegedly due to a severe beating by her husband and because of poison she was forced to take by her husband and mother-in-law.

Laxmi Bohara Women's Empowerment Center and National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders Kanchanpur, Nepal Community Health Counselor

Laxmi was a member of the National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders in Nepal. She was a health rights activist and worked as a volunteer and secretary of the Women’s Empowerment Center in the Kanchanpur district. As a community health counselor, Laxmi worked with women in that area, where incidence of domestic violence is high. Because her activism took place in a conservative community, her advocacy and that of other women human rights defenders was not always well-received; many face death threats, attacks and harassment. Because her activism entailed interaction with men, it was a major source of struggle between her and her husband and his parents. In June of 2008, Laxmi died, allegedly due to a severe beating by her husband and because of poison she was forced to take by her husband and mother-in-law. She was 28 years old and a mother of three.

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http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article5646

16 June 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH

Assassination of Ms. Laxmi Bohara - Nepal

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the assassination of Ms. Laxmi Bohara, 28 years old, a health volunteer and an active women’s rights activist engaged in advocating for health rights of women, Secretary of the Women’s Empowerment Centre and a member of the Women Human Rights Defender Network in Kanchanpur, after being beaten and physically injured by her husband and mother in law.

Brief description of the situation:

According to the information received, on June 6, 2008, Ms. Laxmi Bohara was severely beaten and then forced to take poison, before being rushed to the hospital by her husband, Mr. Tek Raj Bohara. She passed away while being treated at the hospital. Blue marks and severe bruises were present all over her body. After the news of her death, Ms. Bohara’s husband fled from the hospital.

In the past, Ms. Bohara had been severely criticised and harassed by her husband and mother in law for committing herself to social work, suspicious if she talked with anyone on the road, having been submitted to sexual baiting, and regularly beaten up by her husband who even threatened to throw her out of the house. Thus, ten days before her death, Ms. Bohara had been thrown out of the house by her husband, before going back to her husband after he promise he would not beat her up again.

Ms. Laxmi Bohara’s father subsequently submitted a First Hand Information (FIR) to the District Police Office (DPO), accusing his daughter’s husband and mother-in-law to have murdered her. The police informed him that his case was registered under number 224. However, it was later found out that the FIR registered by Ms. Bohara’s father was actually not in his name but was registered by Mr. Tek Raj Bohra’s family.

Furthermore, as a part of the Hindu culture, the dead has to be cremated by a man of the family and follow 13 days of mourning period. Since the religion demands that a “man” has to follow such “holy” procedures, the police informed the family members that the FIR had to be registered after 13 days in order to enable the husband to perform the “ritual”. Hence the husband was freed after having signed an agreement paper according to which he would present himself at the police station after 13 days. Ms. Bohara’s body was then cremated.

The post mortem examination of Ms. Bohara’s body was conducted by Dr. Khagendra Bhatta, a cousin of Mr. Tek Raj Bohara, who submitted a report that clearly states that Ms. Bohara died of poison and there were presence of minor bruises.

Furthermore, when members of the Women Human Rights Defender Network in Kanchanpur went to meet with Mr. Kisan Chand, District Superintendent of Police (DSP), the latter was aggressive and he said that he was not scared of anyone and “even if the women’s movement took their protest to the streets, it would not make any difference to anyone”. Since, such threats and harassment have become common against members of the Women Human Rights Defender Network in Kanchanpur. On June 7, 2008, Mr. Kisan Chand even ordered his sub-officers to throw the women out of his office.

On June 10 and 11, 2008, Ms. Laxmi Bohara’s father went to the police station to register the FIR, but he was told that without any legal and strong evidence, the FIR could not be registered.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern regarding Ms. Laxmi Bohara’s assassination, and urges the Nepalese authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into her assassination in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law.

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