Combating menstrual exile in Nepal

Bimala is 14. One day she began menstruating for the first time; the following day she was alone, unable to join her family in the home.

No one told her how many days she would be exiled in the small shed outside the house. But she knew that no one was coming, at least not until the bleeding stops; they don’t want to get polluted or have bad luck. Bimala started to cough and her chest hurt. It gets so cold in the Nepalese mountains at night. She also heard strange noises outside in the dark. She misses her sisters, misses her friends at school.

Chhaupadi is practice of menstrual exile is widespread in Western Nepal. Those who are menstruating are considered “impure” for the duration of their period. They are excluded from social life, from school, and forced to live separately, sometimes in unsafe huts so as to not “pollute” the home. They are also at increased risk of illness, malnutrition, abuse, rape and, in some cases, death.

Our projects combatting chhaupadi are part of our commitment to tackle period poverty — the lack of access to menstruation products, hygiene facilities and women’s and menstrual health information.

Poverty and a lack of education are key contributors to the problem; however, in some of the areas we work, tightly held beliefs and taboos regarding menstruation are hard to shift. We work directly with traditional healers and village elders to explore how the situation for can be improved, encouraging dialogue with other villages who do not have these practices. We organise community meetings to engage the whole village and work together on improving the situation. With schools, we have developed a curriculum for integrating menstrual health into the classroom. Girls are trained there, as well as in girls’ clubs, on hygienic and safe menstruation methods, and provided with free menstrual hygiene kits. Local women’s groups work with mothers to recognise medical problems by themselves and get regular check-ups with local health post staff. We are working in this way directly with 4,000 girls, mothers and local community leaders from 36 villages in Western Nepal — and we have been able to spread information and awareness to thousands more.

Our work together with communities we are ensuring increasingly safe and dignified menstruation in Nepal.