Uddhav Man Karmacharya, a Hindu priest who attends to the Kumari, says according to an ancient tradition the child will take her place on the Kumari's throne after prayers and tantric rituals are performed.

When she is anointed she will be allowed to leave her new home only 13 times a year, on special feast days, when she will be paraded through Kathmandu in ceremonial dress and elaborate makeup to be worshipped.

Child rights activists say the Kumaris are denied a childhood and their isolation from society hinders their education and development.

Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/nepal-names-3-year-old-as-new-living-goddess-9255858 Read more

Once it is signed, a clause in Nepal's new constitution barring religious conversion will come into effect.

Anyone convicted under the new law could face up to five years in prison for seeking to convert a person or "undermine the religion, faith or belief that any caste, ethnic group or community has been observing since sanatan [eternal] times."

Anyone who "hurts religious sentiment" also faces up to two years in prison and a 2,000 rupee fine.

Foreign visitors are expected to follow the law or they could face the same punishments as locals.

Although the bill does not mention any religious group specifically, it is similar to Pakistan's blasphemy law.

That law is frequently abused to harass minorities, particularly Christians. Nepal is over 80 per cent Hindu, with Christians making up barely one per cent of the population.

Human rights activists are calling for the Nepalese legislation to be changed, saying it will be used to target Nepal's fringe religions including Christians and the country's small Catholic population.

Last year eight Christians were arrested and charged with attempting to convert children after they handed out leaflets about Jesus to school pupils.

Source

• Christian Today
• Catholic Herald
• Image: The City and the World

Nepal's Supreme Court has told the Constituent Assembly elected in 2008 it must complete the task of writing the constitution by May 27th. The new constitution was a key part of the peace process that began in 2006 after the Maoist rebels gave up their armed revolt and joined mainstream politics.

Father Silas Bogati, the former director of Caritas Nepal told Vatican Radio he hopes a new constitution will bring stability to the country.

However, he said, "There will be a clause which will bar and criminalize evangelization. We are very much worried about this." Full story