Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Banu Dhapali Rihana, a 19-year-old Muslim woman from Banke District in southern Nepal, is barely alive. After beating and torturing her for months, her husband poured kerosene on her and set her on fire because she was unable to bring a bigger dowry to the marriage. The young woman is now in serious but stable condition in a Kathmandu hospital. Nazrul Hussein, a local imam, slammed "such violence contrary to our faith and an evil in Islam."
The young woman married Farid Sheikh a year ago. According to preliminary reports, she was tortured and beaten by her husband and his family for several months, to convince her to ask her father for a motorcycle and a water buffalo.
Reacting to his wife's latest refusal, Sheikh set her on fire. Rihana, who comes from a poor family, suffered serious burns, but did not die. Instead, she was locked in a room in the house and left to die.
Following her parents' complaints, the young woman was rescued and brought to a hospital.
"When they come in, patients have a low level of immunity and no appetite. If they are not treated adequately, infections can start to spread, and this could be fatal," said Dr Peeyush Dahal, who heads the facility's burns unit.
"I am poor and I struggle to bring two meals to my family's table," said Rihana's father Samin Sheikh. "For this reason, I was not able to give a dowry of more than 4,000 rupees (US$ 40), which was all the money I had saved. I had to sell four goats to pay for the trip to Kathmandu to see my dying daughter. I had no idea that they would go to such lengths."
At first, Rihana's family reported the matter to the police. When the latter showed no interest in the case, the family turned to the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) in Nepalgunj to pursue their investigation.
Unfortunately, "after the fact came to light, Sheikh and his family fled the village. We cannot arrest them because they are now in India," district police officer Prem Basnet said.
"This type of violence is not connected to the faith," said Islamic leader Nazrul Hussein. "For us, the fact that many Muslim families are involved in similar cases is a problem. But the people involved are cruel and spiritually empty and what they do defames our religion. Islam should take action against these violent people."
Mohana Ansari, a Muslim and president of the National Women's Commission, agrees. She too has called on the police to step up its investigation because "What happened is embarrassing for all Muslims, including myself."