Internal Collab - Chhaupadi

Chhau - untouchable
padi - being

Chhaupadi is a tradition in practice in Nepal, where women who are menstruating are banished to a shed, living away from their family for the duration of their period. These women are considered impure due to their period and this superstition stems from the myth that a god, Indra, created menstruation as means of distributing a curse. The myth follows that if the menstruating woman touches a tree, it will never again bear fruit, if she drinks milk, the cow will never again produce milk and if she touches a man, he will become ill. 

The practice requires that the woman be banished to a shed or makeshift dwelling for the duration of their period. In this time they cannot live with their family. The same practice applies to women who have recently given birth, and they live with their child in the same environment.

The women are socially isolated, prevented from contacting or touching family or friends for fear that they will become ill, and cannot step foot inside a temple or the family home. Their diets for this duration consist of dry foods such as salt or rice for fears that them eating nutritious foods will then cause the cow/tree etc. to stop bearing its produce. However, they are still required to work during this period.

The tradition is highly dangerous, with women and girls dying annually whilst in these huts.
This is due to multiple reasons.
- Sheds/huts are of poor construction, leading to lack of ventilation/heat, which exposes women to extreme weather conditions. The women also have little in the way of warmth besides a rug.
- animal attacks become more common, such as attacks from snakes, 
- the lack of ventilation can lead to smoke asphyxiation or carbon monoxide poisoning, due to the smoke not leaving the hut
- dehydration and diarrhoea can kill the women inside the huts due to their poor diets and lack of nutrition during this period.
- rape is more likely
- adult and infant mortality rates increase 

The Supreme Court of Nepal outlawed the practice in 2005, but attitudes surrounding the tradition have been slow to change. 

The part of this research I found the most interesting is the extreme difference in social attitudes towards periods. In Western countries periods are not considered dangerous, even if they are still considered a taboo subject. The danger of the actions surrounding this practice is extreme, which makes me wonder why people still practice this tradition. I suppose this is due to religion, and the myth and superstition surrounding menstruation. This idea of myths could be useful in creating our final campaign.