Mensuration is a burden for Women 

Mensuration is a burden for Women 

kesavi Joshi

Many women are suppressed by the tribe called Chhaupadi pratha in Nepal.  Menstruation is called chhaupadi pratha in Hindu culture. During the menstruation time, they have been considering as impure and untouchable way. In every month mostly  3 or 5 days of period’s time women are not allowed to touch anybody. They sleep far away from the house with no bedding outside in a small hut called Chhaupadi goth until they are clean.  Not only that they must eat their mail alone without milk or curd. At those days they could not touch anybody psychically and are not allowed to use water resources like a tap, well, they are not allowed to go to the temple. Even girls do not go to school at that time. It hampers their study.

I have also faced such superstition. In my first time periods, I was 13 and had been studying in 8; I did not go to school until 5 days.  I slept in-ground flour, which was used for an animal, and fortunately, there was another house for them. During my first and second time periods,  I was not allowed to talk with my father and brother that hurts me badly.  I was against this tradition but I could not raise the voice at that time. There are some fallacies which are deeply rooted in our mind, ‘If we did not follow that tradition god surely punished us’. Mostly we have doubt that we may be mad if we did not go through this path.

 Nepali Supreme Court banned chaupadi prata in 2005 and it was declared that forcing a menstruating woman into a shed is illegal.  

Now, chaupadi  pratha is criminalized in Nepal.  Under the new law, which was passed in August 2018, sending women to a period hut or shed is a punishable crime and a person found guilty of such an act can receive a sentence of three months in prison and a fine of Rs 3,000 ($37 AUD). However, the law could not be implemented so far. Everyone knows that the custom is still followed in the same way but nobody complained about it, because of fair.

I want to change it, though well educated, well information and well innovators. I know that it is very difficult to change drastically but it will be changed by the step. First, we need research about society, religion, customs, traditions and the people too. Then we can select the right person as innovators who can adopt the new way and, can change the way of women and came out them from this fallacy.