The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report

Prejudice like “Chhaupadi” is Changing for the Better
Ms. Yojana POKHAREL (Nepal)
Last December, the news circulated in social media about the death of a young girl in ashed in the western district of Nepal while she was menstruating disturbed many people livingin the capital city, Kathmandu. Upon investigation, the district police reported that her death
was due to the suffocation from the smoke as she set fire to the twigs and dried leaves to keep
herself warm from the chilly winter,.
The news about the death of young girls in the shed while menstruating or practicing
Chhaupadi is common in Nepal. Often these young girls would die due to the attacks of wild
animals, snakebites, diseases, rapes and sometime due to cold and pneumonia while they areliving in a small makeshift hut made up of mud and stones without windows called a “shed”
during menstruation. Such sheds are very narrow, dark, tight and congested, and have cold
dirty floors with no locks.
Chhaupadi practice is derived from a Hindu tradition that relates to secretions associatedwith menstruation and childbirth. The word Chhaupadi is originated from local words “Chhauand Padi” used in Achham district in the far west. Chhau means menstruation and Padi
means a woman. In this practice, women are considered impure during their periods and are
therefore required to refrain from participating in normal daily activities. They are forced toisolate themselves and sleep inside a shed. Access to water taps and wells is also limited.
Women practicing Chhaupadi can only bathe or wash clothes in a ‘Chhaupadidhara - aseparate well, stream or small rivulet near the village. Women who violate this practice in thevillages are blamed for crop failures, illnesses and sudden deaths of animals and considered
bad luck.
Many experts suggest that Chhaupadi has an impact on psychosocial well-being of girls
as staying apart from their families will result in low self-esteem, and having no access toproper nutritious food would also make them weak and susceptible to sickness.
Discriminatory practices against girls and women
Chhaupadi is against human rights as it is a completely discriminatory practice against
women's rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims the entitlement ofeveryone to equal dignified life and basic human rights without any kind of discrimination
based on gender, religion, creed, caste and ethnicity. Nepal is also a signatory to Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW calls
upon states to work toward eliminating prejudices such as a customary practice based on theidea of inferiority of women or on stereotyped roles for women 1Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has a right tolive standard life with adequate health care, security, food, clothing, housing and necessarysocial services”. Also, World Conference on Women’s Rights, the Beijing Declaration andPlatform for Action have agreed that “Women and girls’ human rights are an inalienable,integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedom 2”. Nepal is thesignatory country to these declarations and treaties. Although Chhaupadi is outlawed and1
UN field Bulletin: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/ContributionsStigma/others/field_bulletin__issue1_april_2011_-_chaupadi_in_far-west.pdf
2 United Nations [homepage on the Internet]. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Available from:http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/. And Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Beijing +20: human rightsof women. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Available from:http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/Beijing20Review.pdf.

The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report
regarded as a violation of international laws and agreements, this practice is still alive inmany rural areas of mid and far-western regions of Nepal.
Positive change is happening
Under an ancient Hindu ideology, menstruation is considered as unclean and impure.
Such prejudices ban women from taking part in normal family activities, touching malemembers of the family, even trees and plants, entering temples and sacred places, during
menstruation. However, things are changing and in cities, girls and modern families havestarted speaking against this prejudice.
Also, regarding Chhaupadi, many community-based organizations, supported by UN andother international organizations, are raising awareness among rural men and women at
different levels so that this discriminatory practice will be stopped. For example, Women andChild Development Offices in Doti and Achham (western districts) are implementing an‘awareness programme against Chaupadi’, which is supported by Save the Children andcovers 19 villages in Achham and more than 10 villages in Doti. The key activities include
awareness raising targeting adolescents, traditional healers, teachers and students at
community level. The programme also advocates for women’s rights, promotes infrastructuredevelopment such as girl-friendly toilets and water taps. Furthermore, there have been many
advocacy campaigns by means of dramas, radio jingles, pamphlets, documentaries, etc. to stopsuch discriminatory practices against women. There is also a good sign from the governmentside as several joint programs are being implemented by allocating budgets at local levels toraise awareness towards stopping Chhaupadi.