An eight-year-old girl has been kept tied to a goat pen for five years in Village No. 10, Madhuban-5, due to financial constraints and inability to seek treatment.
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A girl aged between five and eight years has been kept in a goat cage in Madhuvan Municipality-5, Village No. 10. The girl, who is mentally ill and cannot afford treatment due to financial reasons, has been kept in a cage during the day. The girl is forced to be confined in a cage because she runs and runs away everywhere, said her mother, Parbati Gaha Magar.
Parbati, who is from Bheriganga Municipality-1, Surkhet, has been living with her relatives in Madhuvan-5. Her husband, Dammar Gaha Magar, works in India as a laborer. Parbati said that she has been living with her children in Bheriganga-1 as she has a single house. She has three daughters. The eldest daughter is 13 years old and the youngest is 6 years old. Both of them are healthy. She said that her 8-year-old younger daughter is not in good mental health. ‘When my daughter was two and a half years old, she suddenly fell ill with a fever. Before that, she was fine,’ said Parvati. ‘She got better after she was given medicine. One day, when I was holding her in my arms, she suddenly started shaking and tensing her body. After that, she stopped walking, sitting and talking.’
She says that despite taking her to Nepalgunj and Kohalpur for medicine, she did not get better. Parvati does not remember which hospital she got the medicine from. She says that her daughter tore up the examination papers. ‘Since her financial situation was critical, I could not take her out for treatment,’ she said. ‘After massaging her daughter with herbal oil from a place called Kallugaudi in India, she was able to walk.’ However, she could not speak clearly and her mental state was also not good.’
She said that she tied her daughter up like this and went to work because she could not eat all day. ‘She has to work in the fields.’ Parvati said, ‘During the day, since it is sunny outside, I tie her to the goat pen. Since she tries to escape from the top of the pen, I have to tie her to her feet.’ She said that she only takes her out of the pen when she sleeps.’ She said that even though she does not say that she is hungry, she eats after giving her food from time to time. ‘Sometimes, even when she pretends to know her sister and sits on her lap and plays, she does not show much interest. I make her sleep with me at night. Sometimes she sleeps happily and sometimes she does not sleep.’ She said that although she wants to get her daughter treated and make her healthy, she cannot take her anywhere due to financial problems.
Parbati, who got married in Surkhet, has been living with her mother and child for the past 2/3 years. The girl's maternal uncle, Narayan Gurung, said that he has not been able to get his niece treated as he is working as a laborer and is making a living.
Ward Chairman of Madhuvan Municipality-5, Dilip Gurung, said that after learning that the girl was being kept tied up in a cage, he went to Surkhet and requested her to make a disability card several times. 'It was not possible to make a disability card from our ward.' I have requested the girl's family to go to Surkhet and make a card.' Chairman Gurung said that the ward has provided Rs 5,000 for the time being.
Indra Chunara, head of the Madhuvan Municipality Women, Children and Social Welfare Sub-Branch, said that after learning that the girl was being kept in a cage, she went to the girl's house and told her not to keep her tied up like this. 'We had even talked about rescuing the girl.' But since the girl is from another district, that was not possible,' she said. 'Now we will immediately take the initiative for the girl's rescue and treatment.' Hima Sunar, coordinator of the Civil Society Network Bardiya, said that the state should rescue and treat the girl as the girl's family's situation makes it impossible to get treatment. 'There is a need to provide psychosocial counseling to the girl's family regarding caring for someone with intellectual disabilities,' she said.
