On February 16, 14-year-old Uttara Saud was seen sitting in the Choupadi shed on the heights of Legodsen village in Ashham district in western Nepal. Menstruating women in certain areas of Nepal are expected to respect the Chupadi tradition, which isolates them from the rest of society during this time.

Women who are menstruating in certain regions of Nepal are expected to respect the Chaupadi tradition, which isolates them from the rest of society during this time. Women who follow the Chaupadi tradition spend their periods sleeping in outbuildings or sheds, with little to no protection from the elements. During their menstrual cycles, the women are not permitted to visit homes or temples, make use of regular public water sources, take part in celebrations, or touch other people, as stated in a field bulletin published by the United Nations.

On February 16, a woman named Suntali Devi Saud who follows the Chaupadi religion washes her clothing in the Achham District of western Nepal. Women who adhere to the ancient Chaupadi practice are not permitted to drink from regular public water sources.

 

Isolated in sheds that are frequently rickety and filthy, there have been reports of women passing away as a result of disease, exposure, animal assaults, or fires that were ignited in places that lacked enough ventilation.

Although the Chaupadi practice was declared illegal by Nepal’s Supreme Court in 2005, it is still widely practiced in the westernmost and central areas of the country.

 

At the Shree Devi Mando School in the highlands of Legudsen village in western Nepal on February 16, Rupa Chand Shah, 32, a school teacher who does not favor the practice of Chaupadi, teaches an awareness lesson against the practice.

Uttara Saud, who is only 14 years old, sneaks away from her family’s home in the Himalayan foothills every month in order to spend the night alone in a shed that does not have any windows or doors.

Many people in these outlying villages of Nepal think that menstruation women are unclean and bring misfortune onto their communities.

They are exiled during the time of their period in accordance with a practice known as chaupadi, which leaves them open to the risk of being attacked by animals, subjected to subfreezing temperatures, and other more horrible dangers.

 

Navesh Chitrakar, a photographer for Reuters, traveled to the distant town of Legudsen, located in the far western region of Nepal, in February 2014 in order to expose the hazards posed by this practice.

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