LEPROSY will no longer be grounds for annulling a marriage where the partner contracting the disease had concealed the diagnosis from their spouse, the Supreme Court in Nepal has ruled, after a long and sustained campaign to get the law repealed.

The ruling represented “a landmark victory for human rights,” the Leprosy Mission said, describing the law as both outdated and discriminatory. Arjun Koirala, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, said that the decision reflected advances in medical science and a modern understanding of the disease.

“Leprosy was earlier considered as an incurable and fatal disease, which is why such provision was made in the law,” he said. “However, this disease is now completely curable with medical treatment, and people can return to normal life.”

The disease, which causes nerve damage and can lead to blindness, is most common in places of poverty. It is treated with a combination of antibiotics. The last case of indigenous leprosy in the UK was diagnosed in 1798. The chief executive of the Leprosy Mission, Peter Waddup, said: “While such laws remain in place, discrimination against people affected cannot be fully addressed. For centuries, [they] have been stigmatised and isolated. Historical portrayals in art and literature often depict them as outcasts. These harmful perceptions have helped justify generations of discrimination.”

The Mission highlights the case of 43-year old Mathawar, whose wife divorced him without his knowledge after word got round the community that he was being treated for the disease. He had found an early sign of the disease, and had sought help at the mission hospital at Abandaban, where he had begun muti-drug therapy.

The divorce papers were delivered to him without warning, which was, he told the Mission, “like a nightmare. It was devastating for me.” He suffered depression and resorted to alcohol abuse; the hospital had played a vital part in his eventual recovery, he said.

The Leprosy Mission continues to campaign for the repeal of 100 discriminatory laws that are still in force worldwide, which restrict fundamental human rights, including access to employment and the right to vote. In Britain, it focuses its work on countries where the disease remains both chronic and a social challenge, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Along with medical intervention, the work addresses the associated issues of housing, employment, advocacy, and empowerment.