Twenty-eight-year-old Shushila Nepali of Paduka-5, who was sexually exploited allegedly by a local teacher for years, has been forced to live on the streets in Dailekh district headquarters.

She has been moving from pole to pole in the district headquarters for the past couple of months, requesting every passerby for a shelter for her and her two children—8-year-old son Mohan and 4-year-old daughter Sangita, both born out of the sexual exploitation—in exchange for labour.

She, along with her children, has been battling the winter chill with only a pair of clothing that barely wards off the cold.

She said she has now abandoned all hopes for justice and only wishes for a shelter.

Shushila claimed Narayan Giri, a schoolteacher in her village, is the man responsible for her wretched condition. She said Giri made her brother, Gomey Damai, his ploughman and exploited her sexually, time and again, promising to marry her.

She said Giri forced her for abortion twice, assuring her that he would take care of her. As she refused to abort her child the third time, Mohan was born. “He even stopped me from registering a complaint and forced me to settle the matter in the village itself,” she said, adding that Giri then handed her over to Ramesh Nepali of Gauridaha providing him Rs 20,000. “I had no option other than starting a new life with Nepali and leave the past behind as advised by my brother and other villagers,” she said.

However, she later came to know that Giri, in collusion with the VDC secretary, had registered her marriage and her son’s birth at an earlier date, making Ramesh responsible of his actions. Lamenting about her plight, Sushila said she could not even register a case against Giri as he took advantage of her illiteracy and cunningly destroyed all evidence of his crime. Her ordeals, however, did not end after she was married off to Ramesh.

Ramesh ousted her from his house five years ago and Giri, once again, put her in the hands of Bal Bahadur Khatri of Salkharka giving him Rs 30,000. After Khatri too left for India within a couple of months, she returned to her maternal home only to be disavowed by her brother and sister-in-law. She then lived for three years under the protection of Uday Thapa and Man Bahadur Shahi in the village.

She said she came to the district headquarters after Thapa and Shahi too refused to provide her shelter.