Chhaupadi

Chhaupadi (Nepali: छाउपडी Listen^ⓘ) is a tradition associated with the menstrual taboo, in the western part of Nepal which prohibits Hindu women and girls from participating in normal family activities while menstruating, as they are considered "impure".

The women are banned from the house and are required to live in a cattle shed, or a menstruation hut, a makeshift dwelling, for the duration of their period. Childbirth in Nepal also results in confinement. During this time, women and girls are restricted from participating in everyday life events, and from interacting with their communities.^[1]

The practice of chhaupadi originates from the superstition that menstruation causes women to be temporarily impure, based on the myth that Indra created menstruation as a means to distribute a curse.^[2][3] In this logic, it is believed that if a menstruating woman touches a tree, it will never again bear fruit; if she consumes milk, the cow will not give any more milk; if she reads a book, Saraswati, the goddess of education, will become angry; if she touches a man, he will be ill.

The practice persists in rural areas primarily in Western Nepal. It is also called ‘chhue’ or ‘bahirhunu’ in Dadeldhura, Baitadi and Darchula, as ‘chhaupadi’ in Achham, and as ‘chaukulla’ or ‘chaukudi’ in Bajhang district.^[4]

The tradition begins with an adolescent girl's first menstrual cycle, in which she remains in the shed for up to fourteen days; afterwards, she must spend the duration of each monthly period in the shed, until she reaches menopause. Additionally, women who have just given birth must stay in the shed with their child for up to two weeks.^[5]

Menstruating women and girls are required to remain isolated from their family, and are forbidden from entering homes, kitchens, schools, and temples. During this time, they remain in what is often a menstruation hut, usually made from wood or stone. In some locations, women may stay isolated from their family in a separate room attached to the house, such as a shed used for storing tools. Furnishings are sparse, often women sleep on the floor with only a small rug for warmth.^[6] They may not touch family members, especially male family members, and food and water is passed to them in a way as so to prevent touching. They are also restricted from participating in family, religious or social functions, such as attending the temple or going to weddings, and girls are prevented from going to school. ^[4]

They are barred from consuming milk, yogurt, butter, meat, and other nutritious foods, for fear that their impurity will cause cows to become ill. The typical diet during menstruation are dry foods, salt, and rice. They are barred from using community water sources or performing daily functions like bathing or washing clothing. ^[7]

Despite the social isolation of chhaupadi, women must still work, often fieldwork, during menstruation.^[8]

Women are exposed to multiple health and safety risks while practising chhaupadi.

Huts are often poorly constructed, lacking heat or ventilation, leaving women essentially outside to the elements and extreme temperatures during different times of year. Women are at risk of developing illnesses such as pneumonia or diarrhea while practising, as well as being open to attack by snakes and other animals. Risk of asphyxiation is high if the woman starts a fire in the hut to keep warm during the winter. Women have been raped while practising chhaupadi.^[9][10]

While exact numbers are not available, women and girls die annually while performing the practice. Particularly in the far and mid-western regions of Nepal, a number of deaths have been directly related to the use of these huts. Causes range from being attacked by animals, to being bitten by scorpions or snakes, to illnesses from exposure.^[11]

• An 11-year-old girl died in January 2010 stemming from diarrhea and dehydration from being kept in a menstruation hut. Both her family and neighbours refused to bring her to the hospital because they believed that they would become impure should they touch her.^[11]
• Two young women in late 2016 who died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning from fires.^[12][13][14]

• In May 2017, Lalsara Bika, a 14-year-old, died as a result of a serious cold-related illness from living in a menstruation hut.

• In July 2017, 19-year-old Tulasi Shahi died from being bitten by a snake "twice, on her head and leg," while living in a cow shed being used as a menstruation hut.

• In January 2019, Amba Bohora, a 35-year-old Nepali mother and her sons, aged 9 and 12, died of smoke inhalation while living in their menstrual hut.^[15][16][17]
• In early February 2019, 21-year old Parwati Bogati died from suffocation and smoke inhalation after lighting a fire to stay warm. ^[18]

Community and organizational actions exist to combat the practice. In January 2019, local authorities demanded the destruction of chhaupadi huts in Bajura, the municipality in which a woman and her two young sons died in a hut, resulting in the removal of 60 of the sheds, and deploying law enforcement to patrol for further removal. ^[19]

Chhaupadi was outlawed by the Supreme Court of Nepal in 2005, but the tradition has been slow to change.^[20] In 2017, Nepal passed a law punishing people who force women into exile during menstruating with up to three months in jail or a fine of 3,000 Nepalese rupees, however, five months after the new law went into effect (in August 2018), no cases were filed against those forcing the practice. ^[21][22] In late 2018, district governments in the far west of the country began denying state support services to citizens still forcing the practice of chhaupadi, in an effort to reduce the practice.^[23]

• Culture and menstruation
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Ritual purity

• (BBC) Women hail menstruation ruling
• (BBC) Nepal's 'confined women' want change
• (National Geographic) The Risky Lives of Women Sent Into Exile—For Menstruating