Every year in Nepal, women die while sleeping in a shed outside their home because they are on their period. The cause of death is often smoke inhalation from lighting a fire to stay warm.
The practice, called chaupadi, is linked to Hindu beliefs around religious purity and the idea that menstruation is spiritually polluting. In much of the country, this means that a woman who is menstruating will avoid temples, prayer rooms and kitchens — places important to keep pure in the Hindu religion.
In parts of the remote west, an extreme version means nights sleeping outside in a hut or shed.
Last August, the government of Nepal announced punishments for anyone who forcesa female family member to sleep outside while on her period: three months in jail or a fine of 3,000 rupees, roughly $30.
Menstruation is time period in which the body sheds the unfertilized ova along with the sloughing off of the uterine walls. The meaning seems simple, yet it is killing many girls in the western part of our country. The lack of awareness regarding the care indeed during the menstrual period possesses all the dangers. It will be quite biasing if we only blame menstruation for all the killings, our…
Dambara Upadhyay died alone aged 26 in a tiny mud hut she was banished to, just meters from her in-laws’ as her family slept. Her death has forced Nepal’s government to examine a practice that isolates and stigmatizes women and girls, pushes them out of education, and sometimes costs their lives.
The stigma surrounding periods is killing women and girls in Nepal.
Chaupadi - isolating women and girls during their period - is practised by 95% of families in some parts of western Nepal.
“The practice is fuelled by the mistaken belief that menstruating women and girls are “unclean.” They are forbidden from touching or mingling with other people, for fear that their presence will bring bad luck."
Some women and girls have died from wild animal attacks, and fire and smoke inhalation as they struggle to stay warm in the huts in winter.
do you know if only nepali women practise this chaupadi pratha? also i cant believe that women in nepali actually used to burn themselves to death when their husband died. i can't believe that my great-grandmothers probably died this way. i dont dare to ask my parents about this though ugh. why is our culture so ugly sometimes?
Nope, it’s not just Nepali women. There are many Indian and women of other nationalities (mostly Hindu) that follow it. There was another article outlining it that I posted a while ago..let me see if I can find it.
I think Sati (the burning in the pyre ritual) was not as popular in Nepal as it was in India. It was practiced but people weren’t forced to do it. (source: DR Regmi (1983), Inscriptions of Ancient Nepal, ISBN 978-0391025592, page 11) I think it was practiced more in Southern Nepal compared to the north. Of course, there are exceptions to these statements. It’s absolutely cruel. Ask your parents about it. Start a conversation. Hell I bring up so many things and we have family arguments/debates all the time about how inhumane our culture is.
You ask why our culture is so evil, and there are still south Asian men (and in a lot of cases women) who think women shouldn’t have so much “freedom”. This is mind-blowing to me. Not just south Asians, yesterday this white (Canadian) girl got angry and stormed off because I was telling my friend that men to women violence is much higher than the other way around (reported and unreported according to studies). We live in an insane world, my friend.
'Banished Once A Month' - Nepal's Chaupadi tradition continues on
Chaupadi is a tradition observed in parts of Nepal, which cuts women off from the rest of society when they are menstruating. Women who practice traditional chaupadi have to sleep in sheds or outbuildings while they are on their period, often with little protection from the elements. They are not allowed to enter houses or temples, use normal public water sources, take part in festivals or touch others during their menstruation, according to a United Nations field bulletin on the issue. Isolated in sheds that are frequently rickety and unhygienic, there have been cases of women dying while practicing chaupadi from illness, exposure, animal attacks or from fires lit in poorly ventilated spaces. Chaupadi was banned by Nepal's Supreme Court in 2005, but it is still common in the country's far and mid-western regions. (REUTERS)
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The Superstition Of Chaupadi: Still Rooted in Our Society
by Samjhana
“Oh no!! again menstruation period started, and again I will have torture time.” It was my grandmother’s emotion when she used to have her menstruation period started and follow the religion chaupadi. It is the deeply rooted religion of Nepali people according to the caste and their norms where menstruate women are not allowed to enter in kitchen, temple and room, and must stay in shed with millet bread till the menstruation period stopped. Here I will tell about the experiences, views and opinion of different women and teenagers of different age about chaupadi.
My grandmother and mother talk about their experiences. In my grandmother’s time, she didn’t used to get proper clothes and care too, that's why she used to feel tortured when her menstruation period started. My mother also had same thing like grandma, though she didn’t stay in shed she was hidden for all 8 days with some low nutrition.
In my experience, when I was 13 years, my menstruation period started and at the first menstruation, I was hidden in one room till 7 days but I had nutritious food and a lots of care and I was unknown about the reason.
All the people do not have same view or same experience. In the city, some of the upper caste (Brahmin, Thakuri, Chettri) people follow this religion, not exactly like the past like staying in dirty place but avoided in entering temple and kitchen. But one of my friend have different view. Kabita who is 18 yrs from brahmin caste follows this religion in her family not exactly like past but avoided to enter in kitchen and cook or eat in same dinning table. Even when her mother’s mensuration started, her mother doesn’t cook instead Kabita cooks. And if both have menstruation at same period than their father cooks for them. it's all by the force of old people and they have no idea how to make them understand and tell them. Their opinion towards this religion is nill but they just want to continue it till all the people get aware and totally abolished by the government. They said they could not argue with old traditional people just because they respect them.
One of the businesswomen said the same, “there is almost changes in town about this religion but in village still there is not even drinking facility, how can education be provided and can make aware about this????”
Time and ignorance of people has changed. My grandma and mother has same opinion. They don’t want to follow this nonsense at all and the reason behind this changed view is settlement of city and increment of knowledge and awareness. They know it’s illegal and it's all time waste fellow because we are doing such nonsense in the name of god and religion. Now they don’t want me to follow and even tell other not to follow. Even one of my friend have same opinion. She thinks if we follow this type of religion it will be our stupidity. Even her family is also against this religion.
People have their own different arguments,opinion. Some people wants to continue in their own way ,just because they want to respect the elders or old people instead of making them aware effectively. Some people think it's worse things to restrict a girl or women for all menstruation day instead of caring .thus,in my view it is bad religion very very bad and torturing. It may give the depression to the teenagers to follow this religion in compulsion and may be more risky in women’s health by this carelessness in future . So,it's better if the people are aware by different ways like street play about this religion and its bad influence, by medias and other awareness program, especially in villages so that old people could understand, aware, and know it's illegal, dangerous, and bad.
