Nepal's former Kumaris, girls worshipped as living goddesses in a
centuries-old tradition, are to be awarded a pension to help them
re-adjust to normal life, an official said Tuesday.
Ten former Kumaris will receive the monthly allowance of 10,000
Nepalese rupees ($101) from July for the next 10 years, Kathmandu
Metropolitan City chief executive officer Laxman Aryal
said.
"Although most of the Kumaris come from well-to-do families, they
miss a vital period of their lives and often lag behind in our
increasingly competitive society," Aryal told AFP.
The council made the decision this week as part of efforts to help
the girls who are worshipped as goddesses, but lose their special
status once they reach puberty.
The tradition has continued despite the end of the Shah monarchy in
2008.
The living goddess lives in a palace-temple in ancient Kathmandu's
Durbar Square and is a major attraction for foreign tourists.
In 2008, Nepal's Supreme Court ruled the living goddess should be
educated and they are now taught inside the palace where they live
and are allowed to sit their exams there.
