Since 2063 alone, 26 people have died in Chhaugoth in the Far West, including 20 women and girls in Achham, 2 in Doti, 3 in Bajura, and 1 in Kanchanpur.
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Teenage girls from Khimada, Mangalsen Municipality-11, share their experience of experiencing painful periods for a few days every month. This is because they have a common experience of having to live in a hut during menstruation.
They not only talked about the problems of not being able to walk on the road or bathe in public taps during menstruation, but also the hardships of living in the hut during the cold months. They say that the clothes washed in the hut do not dry on time for seven days and that is why they miss school. Esika Bhandari of Mangalsen Municipality-11 said that they are forced to go to the forest because they are not allowed to use the toilet during menstruation. She said, “When you walk on a different path in the rain, you are afraid of snakes. There is also no light to study.”
She shared her experience of the cramped and dark hut, saying, “There are no windows in the hut. It is very cold. You have to light a fire. It is very difficult during the winter.” The huts, which are located far from home and secluded, are not safe and are sometimes harassed by drunken men. Esika said, “We hear many incidents of rape while living in the huts. I feel like I have to go through that situation myself.’ She shared her experience of crying many times when she had to stay alone in the shed during her period, even though she was not afraid because she was living with her friends.
Swastika Bhandari of Khimada, who is struggling with the hardship of staying in a chhaugoth during her period, said that staying in the shed affects her studies the most. ‘We have to stay in the shed for seven days during our studies. What is the use of educating our daughter when her academic results are not good? They give us mental stress that our investment has gone down the drain,’ Swastika said. ‘We still have to live in a shed with no lights, no windows, and no doors. We have not been able to study.’ She shared her experience of fearing that the shed would collapse and die during the rainy season, and fearing that we would suffocate to death when we light a fire in the winter because there were no windows.
Leaders go door to door to seek votes during elections, but Swastika says that they do not talk about the evil practice of chhaugoth. Even though it is a ward within the district headquarters, no one has noticed it yet, she says. "They discriminate a lot against untouchability. Is it a crime for us to be born as girls? How long will we have to endure torture in the hut?" Swastika said.
Although the campaign to demolish the huts was launched on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the police do not have a clear figure on how many huts there are in the Far West, how many have been demolished, and how many have been rebuilt. Since 2063 alone, 20 women and girls in Achham, 2 in Doti, 3 in Bajura, and 1 in Kanchanpur have died in the huts in the Far West.
