The incident of Suki Baduwal of Nimayal, Dailekh Aathbis Municipality-3, jumping into the Karnali River with her four daughters after being tortured by her husband, has not gone unnoticed. Maya Kathayat, 38, of Piple, Gurbhakot Municipality-12, Surkhet, has also jumped into the Bheri River with her two children. 

Amar Bahadur Ale Magar, 38, of Panchapuri Municipality-3, Surkhet, killed his wife Meena and reached the police office.  Dansingh Thada of Birendranagar-10 killed his wife Rabina Thapa by hitting her with a chisel while she was sleeping.  Police investigation has revealed that Suki and Maya jumped into Bheri and Karnali after being tortured by their husband. 

On Falgun 23, 2077, Suki Baduwal of Dailekh jumped into the Karnali River with her four children due to daily beatings, mental and physical violence from her husband who used alcohol and drugs. Similarly, on Sunday, 38-year-old Maya Kathayat of Piple, Gurbhakot Municipality-12, Surkhet, jumped into the Bheri River with her two children. The reason Maya jumped into the Bheri was due to beatings and various types of torture by her husband.  Bhupendra was in India for a long time for employment.  But he had been at home for the last 6 months.

After settling down at home, Bhupendra bought an auto and started driving it. Before buying an auto, Bhupendra and Maya had a good relationship. Maya's brother Prem Giri says, 'We later came to know that the relationship between my sister and son-in-law was deteriorating after my son-in-law became an auto driver.' According to Prem, Maya and Bhupendra's relationship was good until Dashain. 'After Dashain, we came to know that there was a problem in the relationship. He was coming at night, beating her, and talking to a stranger outside. My sister used to tell this only to her mother. But her mother had not told us. Her mother also thought that if she did not talk about her husband and wife, the family would be ruined. Now my sister has no descendants left,' said Prem.

Bhupendra had gone to Maya's uncle Amardev Giri's house and beaten her. 'When I said that I would take my niece, granddaughter and grandson to the place where my son-in-law was staying, my niece said, 'I will go myself,' but they did not go to the place where my son-in-law was. Then my son-in-law called me asking, 'Why didn't they come?' I informed him that 'they had already come.' I also went to find out where he had gone, and my son-in-law also came. Instead of going to the place where his son-in-law was staying, he had hidden in the bushes,' said Amardev. Amardev asked Maya why she didn't go home. Maya's answer was, 'They beat me, they show me the khukuri at home.' Bhupendra beat Maya in front of Amardev.

Amar said that day, 'Non-niece, don't go today, come and get me tomorrow, discuss it and take me away.' The next day, Saturday, the 30th, at around 8 pm, Bhupendra came again and tried to beat Maya. Amardev said, 'After I reminded my son-in-law, my niece and son-in-law were sitting in the room talking until late at night, but he left them here at midnight and went home.' On Sunday morning, at 6 am, Maya started for home, saying, 'My daughter has an exam, let's go.'

At 12 noon, Bhupendra came and asked, 'Where are my wife and children?' Amardev said, 'They left in the morning.' 'My son-in-law and I searched to see if she had gone somewhere else. We couldn't find her until later. Later, we received news that my niece's mobile phone, bag and my grandchildren's slippers were found on the banks of the Bheri River,' he said. 

Police Inspector Prakash KC of the Chhinchu Area Police Office said that Maya's father Baludev Giri has registered a case against her for abetting suicide.  He said, 'We cannot say anything until the postmortem report comes, we have taken Bhupendra's mobile phone and are investigating further.'

These are just representative incidents.  Statistics show that women who are victims of domestic violence in Karnali are going through mental problems. 

According to the statistics of the Karnali Provincial Police Office, out of 1,375 suicides in Karnali Province from 2078 BS to 2082/83 BS, 372 incidents were caused by family disputes and disputes between husband and wife.

852 people have been raped and 8 people have been murdered in Karnali since 2078. Deepa Bohora, the then deputy mayor of Aathbis Municipality and a woman activist, says that such incidents will continue to increase in Karnali unless the social mindset that considers violence a private matter within the home changes. ‘The rivers of Karnali are not just water carriers, they will become the final witnesses to the bodies of our sisters who are burdened by their pain,’ she said. ‘Women are unsafe in their own homes, it is a reflection of the failure of both society and the state.’ 

Karnali Province Police Spokesperson SSP Ram Prakash Shah said that there has been a significant increase in alcohol, drug and domestic violence incidents in Karnali in recent times. 852 people have been raped and 8 people have been murdered in Karnali since 2078. According to SSP Shah, 372 incidents have occurred due to family disputes and disagreements between husband and wife.

Kamala Tiwari, Associate Professor of Sociology at Madhya Paschim University, says that not only the family but also society is equally to blame for women being forced to choose death due to their inability to bear violence.

'When women and children do not get the treatment they expect from their families, they become mentally disturbed and unable to make the right decisions. Mental instability prevents them from making the right decisions, which leads to choosing a harsh path like suicide,' she says.

Tiwari says that it will have a deep impact on children who have witnessed their mother's pain up close and there is a risk that they will also develop a psychology of accepting death easily.