Combatting Chaupadi and Empowering Women in Rural Nepal

Chaupadi, a practice in remote Nepal that forces menstruating women to inhabit cramped sheds away from their home, is a form of structural violence. While outlawed, the practice continues, leaving young women vulnerable to infections, asphyxiation, burns, & snake bites. In the last year alone, two young women died from Chaupadi where we work in Far Western Nepal. Chaupadi perpetuates the inferior status of females and reinforces other insidious practices like son preference.