Chhaupadi: A Local Practice Reflecting Global Gender Inequities
Even now, in the shadow of Nepal’s mountains and across its southern plains, a quiet injustice plays out every month. Girls and women, for no fault of their own, are told to leave their homes not because they are sick, not because they are dangerous, but simply because they are menstruating. The practice is called Chhaupadi . And despite being banned, it hasn’t vanished. It’s not a story from the past; for many, it’s still painfully part of the present. Women are banished to sheds or cowsheds during their periods, left to brave cold nights, snake bites, hunger, and sometimes even death. Though criminalized under Nepalese law, the practice survives. And this isn’t just about being sent outside the house. It’s about something deeper, the belief that menstruation somehow taints a woman, making her presence unwelcome and her touch feared. The idea isn’t limited to remote corners of Nepal. All around the world, in different names and rituals, the same message echoes: that a girl’s biology i...