Nepali Woman Dies of Suffocation inside ‘Menstruation Hut’

A Nepali woman is suspected to have died because of excessive smoke inhalation while she was in a hut during her menstrual cycle, only a few weeks after the deaths of a mother and two children in similar circumstances that sparked worldwide outrage.

In Nepal, many communities view menstruating women as impure and thus in remote areas they forced their women to stay in a hut away from the home during their menstrual cycle, following a century-old tradition known as “Chhaupadi”.

The traditional practice considers women untouchable during menstruation and after childbirth. Under Chhaupadi, a woman is barred from touching food, religious items, men and cattle.

They cannot even use communal water sources or kitchen utensils. Also, it is considered bad luck to touch them. Meanwhile, the women who observe the taboo are required to stay inside mud or stone huts, some of these huts are no bigger than closets and are away from the main house.

It is this tradition of Chhaupadi, that 21-year-old Prarbati Bogati was following. She was found dead in a smoke-filled hut the next morning, when her mother-in-law went to check on her in the Doti district, the western part of Nepal.

According to a local police officer, Lal Bahadur Dhami, “We suspect she died due to smoke inhalation and suffocation because she closed the door of the windowless hut and lit a fire on the floor for warmth during the night”.

Three weeks ago 35-year-old Amba Bohara and two of her sons aged 7 and 9 years were apparently suffocated in a menstruation hut after lighting a fire to stay warm while observing the tradition in the neighbouring Bajura district.

The deaths ignited the locals to take extreme steps as they demolish chhaupadi sheds in their village. Local authorities also warned that all government services would be denied to anyone, who is found forcing their daughters and daughters-in-law to follow the banned practice.

In the year 2005, Chhaupadi was banned by the government, but is still in practice in parts of Nepal, particularly in remote and conservative western regions. Last year Nepal government introduced a new law, which ensures a three months jail sentence and 3000 rupees or $30 fine if anyone is caught imposing chhaupadi.

Ganga Chaudhary, a lawmaker who was a part of the drafting committee for the new law said, “We have realised that only legal provisions are not enough to end such practices. We need to focus on awareness and educating women”.

Every year at least a couple of women in Nepal die in these huts from exposure, animal bites or smoke inhalation. Most of the women who follow chhaupadi claim they do so out of guilt and social pressure.

In a survey conducted by Nepali government in 2010 and published as the State Department Human Rights report, found that 19% of women between the age group of 15 to 49 years follow chhaupadi in the country, while in Nepal’s far western regions, the proportion climbed to 50%.