The murder of Banudevi Rana, 69, at Naxal and of Phu Dorji Sherpa, 29, at Chapali are recent instances of crime in Kathmandu Valley that were plotted exclusively by women. [break]
Junita Thapa aka Jenisha, 22, of Gaagalfedi-2, Thapagaun and Kalpana Giri, 34, of Jorpati-3, Nayabasti stand accused of killing Rana to loot her house whereas Pasang Yangji Sherpa is accused of killing her own husband with the assistance of her paramour.
Not only that, the Valley has witnessed female involvement in several criminal activities such as theft, robbery, fraud, forgery, banking and financial crime, and drug trafficking.
According to DIG Keshav Adhikari, spokesperson of Nepal Police, lack of proper guardianship, financial crisis and unemployment are the major reasons behind the growing involvement of women in crime.
"We recently analyzed the growing involvement of women in crime and concluded that the kind of company they keep, unemployment and lack of proper guidance have rendered women and girls more inclined to criminal activity."
Police headquarters records from mid-July to mid-December show 139 women and girls arrested for involvement in different criminal activities across the country, leaving aside Kathmandu Valley.
DIG Adhikari said that the number is almost double in comparison to earlier months.
Metropolitan Police Range Office Kathmandu alone witnessed 144 cases of crime masterminded by women, including two murders, three forgeries, 22 incidents of fraud, 12 financial crimes and four instances of trafficking in women in six months.
According to the Metro Police Range Office, there were hardly 70 cases registered against women in the previous six months.
DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh said that women rarely played the leading role in heinous crime in the past but unfortunately many cases have been registered against women in recent days.
Some experts take this as natural and claim that the rise of female involvement in crime was because of the growing trend of filing complaints with police. Sociologist Ganesh Man Gurung said, "The rise in a culture of indiscipline, growing impunity and lack of moral education have been nudging women and girls into crime."
If the government and stakeholders do not take proper initiatives to control the trend, we are certain to face more serious problems, sociologist Gurung added.
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