Chaupadi legally criminalized

The parliament of Nepal has endorsed the the Criminal Code Bill criminalizing an ancient practice that barred  women from the home during menstruation period.

Menstruating women in many communities is considered untouchable or impure. Specially in far western region women during menstrual  are forced to sleep in a hut away from home known as chaupadi.

The new law stipulates a three-month jail sentence or Rs 3,000 fine, or both, for anyone forcing a woman to follow the custom.

A decade back, the Supreme Court banned chaupadi and its was practiced as a form of culture and tradition.