Ten-year-old Sajani Shakya of Baktapur, Nepal, was a goddess in her home country until she returned from a promotional trip to the U.S. where she had toured on behalf of a documentary about her own and several other young girls' roles as "living goddesses of the Katmandu Valley." But that trip cost apparently cost her her position: some priests in Baktapur decided that the trip had sullied her to the point that she could not longer continue as a living goddess and they decided to terminate her employment. According to a New York Times story, the priests who did so may not have the right to do so, however, so maybe she's still a living goddess, at least until she hits puberty.
An Associated Press story reports that these girls, called Kumaris, now receive a pension of about $40, paid by the Nepalese government, when they retire. Folklore says that any man who marries one will die prematurely, so many men are understandably reluctant to do so. The story also notes that children's law experts believe the tradition of selecting Kumaris violates international and national children's rights laws.
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