HETAUDA, NOV 26 - All the participants, including the master of ceremonies, burst into tears today when Urmila Regmi, 36, of Faparbari VDC-7, narrated her harrowing tales of suffering at the hands of her husband at a programme in Hetauda, the headquarters of Makwanpur district.
A primary school teacher until recently, the sufferer exposed the oppression of her husband, a headmaster, who sacked her from her post after 10 years of teaching at the same school.
It was at the programme organised by the Makwanpur branch of Human Rights and Network Group Against Human Trafficking, an NGO, Regmi narrated the heartbreaking tales of her life. Her story was interrupted repeatedly due to the spontaneous sounds of wailing from among the audience who could not check their emotion provoked by the victim’s woeful tales.Urmila was married to Umesh Prasad Regmi at the age of 13. With her personal efforts, she continued her school education and passed the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations. A mother of four children, she became a teacher at the same local school where her husband is the headmaster.
Despite Urmila’s arduous efforts to endear herself to her husband, she was always subject to harsh beatings and other inhuman treatment from him when the marriage was hardly two years old.The husband drank and abused not only her but also the innocent children. "He came home late, fully drunk, and often heaped the full plate of dinner on my head," recounted Regmi, with tearful eyes.
Though she worked as a teacher for 10 years at the school, she never got her salary. Her husband made her sign a paper as proof that she had withdrawn her pay. He not only spent his entire salary on drinking but also that of hers, according to the victim.
"He was not just content with squandering his and my salary on drinking. He also
sold my ornaments, our grains and also the house utensils for his indulgence," moaned the victim. "Whenever I tried to stop him, he would severely beat me."
When all her attempts failed and her patience to endure the inhuman suffering crossed the limits, she came to Hetauda seeking divorce from her brutal husband. It was where she met the NGO activists and shared her bitter experiences of over two decades with them.
Other women, similar victims of domestic violence, also spewed their bitter past experiences at the programme.
At the programme, the NGO provided four of the victims with Rs. 1,000 each and wrapped shawls around their shoulders so as to boost their morale.
Presently, the Hetauda branch of Maiti Nepal is sheltering Urmila Regmi.Posted on: 2003-11-25 09:09

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