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Eves the lambs at Chhaupadi altar
SANTADA (ACHHAM), APR 19 -
Chhaupadi deaths are common in the Mid and Far Western parts of the country. All because efforts to eradicate this deep-seated tradition, which dictates that menstruating women be kept in secluded sheds as they are considered impure, have so far proved futile.
Believers in the Chhaupadi tradition follow this custom like a religion so fanatically that its superstitious value trumps all evidence against it put forth by medical science.
To these believers, any bid to stop the practice amounts to an act of betrayal of the community. A couple of months earlier, an entire family in Doti’s Chhatwan VDC faced ostracism from the villagers for trying to defy the Chhaupadi tradition.
Powerless before society, in some Chhaupadi-practicing areas even women health workers are fettered by this evil practice.
“It’s my compulsion to isolate myself from others during my periods,” said Nirmala Shah of Santada VDC-8 of Achham. Though she is a health care volunteer, she has not been able to convince fellow villagers to abandon the Chhaupadi practice. “It is a custom that all girls and women are constrained to follow. Defying the practice is almost impossible. Be it a good practice or a bad one, these people dyed-in-the-wool of this tradition are determined to uphold it all costs,” she added.
The inward qualms of Panadevi Saud, another health care volunteer of Accham’s Pasela VDC-1, finds an echo Shah’s heart. Saud too believes that Chhaupadi is an outmoded practice and has no significance, but she thinks it is best she keep that opinion to herself. “It is just impossible to go against such social beliefs when you are the only one who wants change,” she said.
Girls and women are required to lock themselves in a small isolated shed during menstruation. They are not allowed to consume nutritious food. Even Warm blankets and beddings are denied them. In the winter, many women die of hypothermia while in Chhaupadi isolation.
“Even the fatalities caused due to Chhaupadi do not deter its adherents, so strong is their conviction,” said Dr. Purusottam Sedai of Accham’s District Public Health Office.
Posted on: 2010-04-20 07:22
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