practice of Menstrual Hygiene (chaupadi)

Chaupadi is a tradition observed in parts of Nepal, which cuts women off from the.Not only in our working area but in all districts of Karnali Zone of Nepal there is practice of chaupadi. Chaupadi is both a superstitious belief and a practice. Chaupadi is practice when a girl or a woman has monthly period. During this period they become unclean and they cannot stay with other family member because they will make others also unclean therefore during the period they are abandoned to the cowshed, a very dark room and very dirty. This is also a belief that if woman or girl during their period does not go to cowshed, the spirit of goddess will curse and harm them. This system comes from the superstition of impurity during the menstruation period. In this superstitious logic, if a menstruating woman touches a tree it will never again bear fruit; if she consumes milk the cow will not give any more milk; if she reads a book about Saraswati, the goddess of education, she will become angry; if she touches a man, he will be ill.Chhaupadi was outlawed by the Supreme Court of Nepal in 2005, but the tradition has been slow to change.

 family member offers food to women practising chaupadi, without touching the dish or the women,
who are considered to be impure while menstruating. Women are not permitted
 to enter a house or pass by a temple during their monthly cyclePhotographs: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters