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A 21-year-old woman has died in a so-called “menstrual hut” in Nepal.
It is common practice in Nepal – and in parts of Africa and India – for women to be banished to secluded huts while they have their period.
The custom is due to longstanding fear that women who are menstruating will contaminate their homes and offend Hindu gods if they remain within their community.
It has been illegal since 2005, but there has been no way to enforce the legislation.
According to NPR, 21-year-old Dambara Upadhyay was completing her final sleep in a menstrual hut in the western Nepalese village of Timalsena on November 18.
As a married woman, Upadhyay was only required to observe the practice, called ‘chaupadi’ for three days (unlike unmarried women, who are often expected to sleep in the detritus ‘cattle’ shed for up to seven days).
Her body was discovered the following morning by her sister-in-law, who reportedly found Upadhyay bleeding from the nose and unconscious.
NPR reports that the shed was locked from the inside and that authorities have ruled out any possibility of foul play. Local police have alleged that Upadhyay may have suffered from a heart attack, but an initial post-mortem report is yet to determine the cause of death.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is said to be conducting a government investigation into menstrual seclusion, a practice that has reportedly claimed the lives of at least eight women since 2007.
According to The New York Times, the Nepalese government are now reportedly contemplating a nationwide ‘crack down’ on ‘chhaupaudi’, as the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare has said it will consider implementing laws to punish families who adhere to this deeply entrenched tradition.
