By Arpana Adhikari

Kathmandu Dec. 25: The Ministry of Home Affairs has come up with stricter measures to discourage the practice of Chhaupadi.
Issuing an 8-point circular to the local authorities of 19 districts where the practice is prevalent, the Ministry on Tuesday asked the officials to intensify the drive against the malpractice, which forces menstruating women to live in an isolated and unhealthy menstruation hut.
The Ministry has a plan to implement the drive in stages from raising awareness, demolishing Chhau Goths (isolated menstruation sheds) and depriving those forcing women to practice Chhaupadi of the social incentives they have been receiving from the state coffers.
The ministry has asked the local authorities to intensify the drive against Chhaupadi in Achham district, said Kedar Nath Sharma, Joint-Secretary and Spokesperson at the Ministry.
The ministry had issued a circular to form a three-member committee, which would be led by chief district officer in the respective districts.
Sharma said the practice of Chhuapadi is illegal in Nepal but still it is widely prevalent because many people are still unaware about the law.
“Therefore, the first step the committee will take is to mobilise local leaders, civil society, religious leaders and the media to generate awareness about the law that has criminalised this practice,” he said.
After generating awareness, the drive would focus on demolishing menstruation huts from the region. This movement would be carried out under the community-police partnership programmes, said Sharma.
“If the people will continue to practice this social evil even after this, then they will be deprived of the social incentives and services they have been enjoying from the government,” he added.
Those forcing women to stay in isolated hut during their mensuration and those women who are giving continuity to this practice would be subjected to jail sentence, said Sharma, adding that the police had already made their first ever arrest in connection with the illegal practice in Achham.
“There is a need to introduce forceful policies to end the practice,” he added. Following the latest Chhaupadi fatality in Achham district, a wider concern of the authorities has been drawn over the practice.
In December this year, Parwati Budha Rawat of Achham district was found dead in a hut located 100 meters away from her home.
It is suspected that Budha might have died of smoke suffocation from the fire she had lit to keep herself warm inside the shed.
The practice of Chhaupadi is illegal in Nepal but still practiced by many communities in Sudurpaschim and Karnali States because menstruating girls and women are considered unclean and bringers of bad omen.
For the first time, her brother-in-law has been arrested in connection with her death and the investigation was underway to prove if she was forced to sleep in the hut.
The practice was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2005. In 2017, Nepal criminalised the practice stating that anyone found guilty of forcing women to follow Chhaupadi is subjected to a three-month jail sentence or a fine of Rs. 3,000 or both.
However, the practice still prevails in many communities in the two states where 14 women and two boys have lost their lives in the Chhau Goths.