Source: Frank Bienewald / Getty
The shaming of women’s bodies is still rampant, and in some cases, it’s deadly.
One such place is Nepal, where a teenage girl has died after she was banished to a poorly-ventilated shed for having her period. Local police are investigating the death of 15-year-old Roshani Tiruwa, whose body was found by her father last weekend in a stone and mud hut in the village of Gajra. Authorities say the girl suffocated after lighting a fire to keep warm.
They can be freezing cold in winter and stiflingly hot in summer. It is thought that many victims of the tradition suffer from mental and physical illnesses in later life.
The chhaupadi rules mean that a menstruating female faces restrictions on where she can sleep, who she can see, where she is allowed to go and who she can touch.
Critics say the government has not done enough to eradicate the practice and that it is has also been slow to prevent child marriages. But officials argue it is difficult to prevent such abuses when they are so deeply ingrained in local culture.”
