The Curse

By Jotika C

Many sections of the society still take the effort to taboo ‘those days’ of the month. I wouldn’t know any women who have at some point of time in their lives not witnessed or experienced this taboo. As a woman with time one tends to get to terms with such customs.

Very recently during a trip when I causally heard about the ‘Chhaupadi’ custom I must admit I grossly undermined the seriousness, stubbing it as one of the orthodox custom women have grown immune to deal with de-facto until the learnt who exactly this custom is and the amount of lives it has costed over the years and has the potential to cost. 

Under the Chhaupadi custom practiced in western Nepal by Hindu/ Newa community, a menstruating woman or a woman about to deliver a child is exiled from the family house to live in a separate place, usually a mud covered hut or shed with no facilities. 

Such women are considered ‘impure’ and could allegedly anger the Gods if they lived a normal life with their families. Nepal is land of rich culture and folk tales, most of  which are very intriguing and interesting, the one about Chhaupadi is a sure exception.  IT is believed that if Chhaupadi is not followed evil spirits could possess the male members of the family. 

This custom restricts the lady to enter the premises of the house, touch any person or thing from the house, do not access public taps or wells they can access water only through restricted streams of water specifically assigned for women practicing chhaupadi and have no access to education during such times.

The Diet for menstruating and pregnant women is restricted to flat bread and salt. Milk or dairy products are specifically restricted. During times when women need assistance the most they are often left to their own devices to maintain their huts, collect firewood.  

In addition to the test of endurance, this practice is a huge cause of deteriorated health, vulnerability to diseases and social evils like assault and even rape while being on the ‘social exile. In Chhaupadi practicing sections of the Nepalese society most women deliver at their huts and not at hospitals some in presence of family members and some with no attendance at all. 

This practice has been abolished and considered unlawful by the Nepalese Supreme Court back in 2004 but still a decade later it still dies hard. Over the years there has been a huge outcry of women activists, urban population of Nepal and UNICEF.  If we let the numbers do the talking below is how the situation looks in Nepal and surrounding countries. Nepal has made considerable progress since the abolishment of Chhaupadi, but there is still a long way to go for this practice is die out.

		Units	2005	2010	2012
Nepal	HDI Ranking				157.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	250.00	170.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.63	0.50	0.49
Bangladesh	HDI Ranking				146.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	330.00	240.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.59	0.53	0.52
Bhutan	HDI Ranking				140.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	270.00	180.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index			0.46
Myanmar	HDI Ranking				149.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	230.00	200.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index		0.47	0.44
Viet Nam	HDI Ranking				127.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	74.00	59.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.32	0.32	0.30
Sri Lanka	HDI Ranking				92.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	44.00	35.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.45	0.41	0.40

Source: Human Development Report by the UN Development Programme