The long pending draft bill regarding witchcraft related crimes was finally endorsed by Parliament on July 29. This marks an important step towards reducing violence against women. Even though branding someone as a witch was considered a criminal offence by the Muluki Ain of 1963—where the accuser could face two to three years of imprisonment ‘or’ could pay a monetary fine of Rs 5,000-25,000—many perpetrators could just walk away by paying the minimum fine because of the ‘or’ provision. The new Witchcraft (Offence and Punishment) Act amends that provision and introduces stricter ones. From now on, accusers who verbally abuse a woman of being a witch or humiliate her family members could be jailed for a maximum of three years. Further, it mentions a maximum imprisonment of five years for evicting women over witchcraft allegations and up to ten years imprisonment if mental or physical torture is inflicted on the victim.

According to the ‘Study on Violence due to Witchcraft Allegation and Sexual Violence’ conducted by INSEC, it is mostly the women who are accused of practising witchcraft. In addition, it has been observed that even within women, it is usually the widows, single and elderly women who are frequently accused of being a witch. In the most extreme of cases, victims are forced to eat excrement and, at times, even killed. In 2012, Dhegani Mahato, a 40-year-old mother of two, was burned alive in Chitwan, because people believed her to be a witch.

Still, there is no official data regarding the actual number of women killed for ‘being a witch’. Based on media reports, 80-90 women are killed annually whereas hundreds of women face extreme violence. According to the police reports 20-40 cases are related to witchcraft are reported every year.

Superstitions are hard to address as they are deeply ingrained in society, but when superstitions lead to grave human rights violations and even deaths, then the state has to take the required steps to fight them. The enactment of the new law was thus a much-needed initiative. It should help to control stigmas regarding witchery in society. To that end, it is critically important for the state authorities to enforce the Act. Further, organisations working against violence against women should also work to make communities aware of the new provisions in the law. Such organisations can make use of the mass media, especially community radios to get the message across. This would not only inform people regarding their rights, when faced with such discrimination, but might even dissuade perpetrators.