Snake bite kills a girl of menstrual out-casting in chhaupadi

Tulasi Shahi died in western Dailekh district while being bitten by a poisonous snake in the cowshed  following the menstrual tradition of living in a Chhaupadi.  The death has seriously raised question about the tradition and lack of awareness about women sexual health and its taboos that are currently being practiced in developing countries.

According to literal  meaning, "the word Chhaupadi has its origin from the  Raute dialect of Achham district located  in the far western part of Nepal where Chhau means menstruation and padi means a woman. Following the  practice, women are considered impure and untouchable during their menstrual periods and are therefore not allowed to participated in their daily chore of the household. They are banished or refrain from participating in normal daily activities and  are forced to live in isolation and  sleep inside a small hut called chhaupadi or goth.

In tradition practice, these huts are especially prepared 20–25 meters away from their own residential homes and are sized around 1×2 m.  Culturally, Chhaupadi is a small hut made outside the house for sleeping of woman during the menstrual period of 7 days. Women across the country observe a wide-ranging set of rules based on the belief that menstruation is impure and can be regarded as a gender based violence where the tradition has its various form of practice.

In 2005 the Nepal's Supreme Court banned chhaupadi as a  human rights violation, but due to its cultural and tradition it is  widely  in rural parts of Nepal. In a recent study in 2010 it was found that 19 percent of Nepali women practiced chhaupadi, but in the mid- and far-west, where Shahi lived, the figure was closer to 50 percent.Especially in western district, Jumla, the figure is around 74 percent.

For the tradition like chhaupadi local women have to step up and abolish this darkness of suffering where every mother, daughter and sister goes through.  There is a great need of awareness required at grassroots level where international organizations have been working but with such investment, expertise and reports Nepal seems to be lost where every years hundreds of girls are suffering inevitable faith of sexual exploitation, health issues and attacks.

who is to blame for ? The government which banned chhaupadi ages back or the people who practice it in the name of culture and tradition or the international non governmental organization which are working headless with their expertise and consultants.


The question remains unanswered, funding or not, Nepalese women are suffering the consequences of gender base violence  where every woman understand the pain of being a  Nepali woman.    

AND IT EXIST WHICH NEEDS TO STOP..................................................