The facts of the case seem to be all over the place. A lot of the articles are short, and since the investigation hasn’t been conducted yet, nobody has any straight facts. Here is what has been established:
Nepal’s Speaker of the House, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, initially denied that anything happened. However, due to increasing pressure by the Communist Party, he has resigned from his position.
The accuser, a woman whose name is unknown, was a parliamentary worker and has known Mahara for years.
Mahara visited this lady in her home sometime on Sunday the 29th, by admission of both parties.
This lady has bruises on her arms, legs, and feet.
Now, here’s what is said to have happened. This lady says that Mahara visited her house drunk. He then tried to force entry after she turned him away. He forced his way in, made her drink alcohol as well (some sources say wine, others whiskey), and then proceeded to rape her. On the other hand, Mahara claims that he did, in fact, visit this lady on Sunday, but he’s visited her before at her residence and so it wasn’t out of the ordinary. He says that the lady, who has been working a temporary position in Parliament, got angry with Mahara when he denied her request to pull some strings and make her position permanent. Mahara also initially denied everything, but soon stepped down from his position as Speaker of the House in order to allow an “impartial and independent investigation” to take place.
This has huge social implications. Historically and in modern times, Nepal has been very patriarchal. The MeToo movement struggled to gain traction there, with many women still afraid to speak openly about their experiences. If the allegations are true, it might end up being a catalyst to a change in the way Nepal perceives and treats women. Maybe more women will come forward with their experiences. If this one lady has the courage to tell the world what happened to her, even though her abuser is in a huge position of power, others may feel comfortable telling the world about their own abusers. It’s also worth considering the fact that a rapist often has more than one victim. If this lady is telling the truth about Mahara, it’s likely there have been other women, and that those women will come forward.
On the other hand, if this lady is lying, and she really is just angry at Mahara, the credibility of every woman crumbles. Nepalese women have worked hard to bring their reputations and their credibility to where they are right now, precarious as it is. If one woman is found to be making a false accusation, especially in a case that is making international news, all of that hard work is gone and they have to start back from the beginning. This could extend to other countries too. The US, for example, could face a regression of this sort. Already there’s a problem in getting police, medical teams, friends, and family to believe us that something happened. If one woman lies, it becomes that much harder.