A 15 year old girl from Gajra village in western
Nepal's Achham district has died from smoke inhalation after she was
separated from her community because she was menstruating and left to
sleep in a menstruation hut in Nepal.
“Chhaupadi” which is the name given to the menstruation hut, is a
practice in which women are banished during menstruation in Western Nepal.
During Chhaupadi, a practice that dates back hundreds of years ago,
girls are kept in small huts with no doors,poor sanitation and poor ventilation
and are forbidden from touching other people, livestock, fruits and plants.
According to Achham district police inspector, Badri Prasad Dhakal, 10
other girls have died in the lst 9 years from the isolation and exposure to
environmental factors when left in the menstruation hut while
practicing Chhaupadi.
"Deaths are
usually caused by smoke inhalation, snake bites (and) lack of basic health care
during menstruation," Badri Prasad said.
Read a 2011 United Nations report on the practice below;
''Girls are not
allowed to drink milk or eat milk products and their access to water taps and
wells is limited.
"Some in the Far
West still believe that a God or Goddess may be angered if the practice is
violated, which could result in a shorter life, the death of livestock or
destruction of crops,"
"It is believed
by some that if a woman touches fruits, they will fall before they are ripe. If
she fetches water, the well will dry up."
'Girls are even
banned from reading, writing or touching books during menstruation so they
won't anger Saraswati, the goddess of education.
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