Calmfident Team, September 23, 2022
"Girls who menstruate are expelled to temporary sheds or even poultry farms to spend their period or even longer, otherwise, these girls would harm the luck and health of their family members, lead to poor crop harvests, and anger the gods."
Period Stigma in Nepal
This is not an absurd joke; it's the reality of a tradition called Chhaupadi in Nepal. Despite being officially abolished in 2005, deeply ingrained superstitious beliefs have kept the practice alive in some rural areas.
Is Menstruating a Capital Offense?
From the above image, it's evident that these temporary sheds are extremely rudimentary, lacking sanitary facilities, poor ventilation, and hardly warm in winter. Living in a poultry shed, surrounded by animal feces and smell, is an unspeakably terrible experience. In recent years, this tradition has led to numerous deaths of girls:
A 19-year-old girl died from a snake bite in her sleep; a 15-year-old girl suffocated to death in a poorly ventilated hut after lighting a fire for warmth; a mother and her newborn child were smothered to death...
Besides this tradition, in Nepal and many developing countries, menstrual products are not widely available, and many people cannot afford their high costs. Many Nepalese girls have to use old rags to absorb menstrual blood, making them highly susceptible to gynecological diseases.
Stifling Menstrual Taboos and Oppression
11-year-old Gita was expelled from her home because of her period. She spent a full 21 days alone in a crude shed, unable to attend school, without enough food, and could only clean and mow... The psychological oppression and fear instilled in girls about menstruation severely distort their perception of menstruation. Period Stigma in Nepal is everywhere.
These superstitions are not only rooted in society and among men but also tightly bind women themselves. Besides Chhaupadi, many women in Nepal risk going out at night to "cleanse themselves of the sins committed due to menstruation with animal feces and urine" because they believe not doing so might cause them to be reborn as prostitutes.
"This degradation of women's self-worth, making women believe from a young age that they are physiologically weaker than men and 'impure,' is terrifyingly oppressive."
How to Change All This
Although Chhaupadi still exists, the government has already decreed that "forcing women to enter 'menstrual huts' during their period will result in a 3-month jail sentence and a fine of 3,000 rupees (about 330 RMB)." At the same time, many non-governmental organizations and groups are protesting it in various ways.
A women's initiative called ActionAid has been dedicated for over a decade to uniting women to find solutions. They have formed "reflection circles" to help women establish a space for discussion and exchange. This includes discussions specifically aimed at resisting Chhaupadi and extending actions against it. So far, with the help of ActionAid, over 1,400 women have stopped practicing Chhaupadi. ActionAid has also helped establish at least 11 "Chhaupadi-free" communities in collaboration with local organizations.
Moreover, some experts from the University of Pittsburgh have established collaborations with Nepalese fertility care centers. By producing films, they engage Nepalese girls in conversations about menstruation, openly discussing menstrual taboos and challenging these absurd customs. Their film attracted international audiences at the Kathmandu Film Festival and received widespread coverage.
Perhaps change cannot be achieved by law alone; education from the top down and a shift in perceptions and beliefs might be the real solution.
