December 1, 2016
Link to article A Young Woman Died in a Menstrual Hut in Nepal
If menstruating couldn't be anymore inconvenient...
Menstruating women were often separated in from family and society in accounts from the Old Testament but is it possible that this is still the case today? In the Hindu religion a menstruating woman in the home can anger the Hindu Gods. Blood of the woman can also contaminate the home, is believed to make the livestock sick, or can harm other family members.
Because of these beliefs it is common in for girls who are menstruating to separate themselves from the home for a period of time each month. This practice is called chaupadi. In western Nepal there are small huts or shelters near the home that girls will live in until there period is over. Unmarried girls married usually stay out the entire week while married women stay out only a few days.
A couple weeks ago 26 year old Dambara Upadhyay died while sleeping in the hut away from her home. She lived with her in-laws and had been married just shy of two years. The cause of her death is still unknown. There is no thought that it was murder but rather from a possible heart attack. Since 2007 there have been eight deaths of girls who practice chaupadi. Today many families have decide to stop forcing their daughters to leave the home.
