Those who are forced to live in the neighborhood are usually: family members, relatives or neighbors, so there is little chance of a complaint. Therefore, the police should investigate and prosecute the incident by themselves or by taking information from alternative means.
What you should know
A woman and a girl who was with her, who were staying outside the house for menstruation (chow), lost their lives. On Friday, 39-year-old Nim Khanal and 7-year-old Kavita Bhandari were killed when a stone fell on a Tripal hung near a house in Panchdeval Vinayak Municipality-8 of Achham.
The mother of the deceased girl, 36-year-old Ratnakala Bhandari, was injured. There is no basis to say that Khanal is not the first to die due to various reasons while staying away from his original home while moving. Because, public awareness against the trend of sowing has not been effective. Households suffering from superstitions have not been able to learn from the tragedies happening around them. Death created by superstition is a question of society's consciousness. Women, families and society as a whole can benefit only if we get out of such suicidal superstitions as soon as possible.
In the western region of Nepal, especially in some parts of Sudurpaschim Province, during menstruation, girls and women are forced to spend day and night in haphazardly constructed, narrow and unsafe sheds away from their homes. are forced to endure terror or violence. Deaths are mainly due to attacks by wild animals, snake bites, landslides, falling stones, cold, and suffocation due to smoke. Sometimes the incident of rape is also publicized. Nim Khanal and Kavita Bhandari are just the latest references. 32-year-old Kamala Auji Damai of Krishnapur Municipality-1 Nigali in Kanchanpur died after being bitten by a snake in the camp on May 27.
Four years ago, 20-year-old Parvati Budha Rawat of Sanfebagar Municipality-3 Siddheshwar of Achham died of suffocation in the neighborhood. On 2 June 2081, a 15-year-old girl was gang-raped in Panchdeval Vinayak Municipality-2 of Achham. On the night of January 13, 2081, 40-year-old Saraswati Vick of Mohanyal Rural Municipality-7, Kailali, was attacked and injured by a leopard while she was sleeping in her bed. It is seen that 26 women and girls have died in Achham, 2 in Doti and 3 in Bajura, 1 in Kanchanpur and 1 in Kanchanpur in the incidents that have taken place in Chhaugoth till Friday.
Menstruation is a regular process in women of a certain age group. However, discrimination during menstruation is present in many places. In some parts of the western region of Nepal, it is customary for girls and women to stay in separate sheds for 4 to 6 days when they are menstruating. There is a widespread superstition that if you don't sit like that, the gods will get angry and cause harm. Due to the superstition and social norms of the individual, this discrimination and the compulsion to live apart from home has been going on. When the deaths are made public, a campaign to demolish the slums is also going on. But even that has not been able to break the trap that has been built in the mind . As a
, Nim, who died on Friday, and Ratnakala, who was injured, were sitting on a tripal for four days. After the rain did not stop, they moved to the house on Thursday, the fifth day. But he did not stay in the house. Even though they were in Tripal, they stayed outside the house because the neighborhood they had built in their minds did not come true. As a result, they lost their lives and were injured.
It is necessary to do a compulsory and awareness program to end the death and other accidents caused by the discrimination of menstruation, which is built on the hard foundation of superstition and the practice of sitting in the corner. Mainly the demolition program should be accelerated. Local level, ward and other concerned organizations should take priority for this. Similarly, legal action should also be given priority. Section 168 (3) of the Criminal Code, 2074 states that women should not be kept in confinement or subjected to any other discrimination, touching or inhumane treatment during menstruation or childbirth.
In sub-section (4), it is said that the person who commits such an offense will be punished with imprisonment up to three months or a fine up to three thousand rupees or both. However, complaints are less likely as coercers are usually: family members, relatives or neighbours. Therefore, the police should investigate and prosecute the incident by themselves or by taking information from alternative means. If the prosecution of the culprits is speeded up, this practice can be reduced.
Menstruating women are forced to live in cow sheds, buffalo sheds or goat cages, even when the camp is destroyed. Nim and Ratnakala Jhari, who died on Friday, lived in Tripal. It is clear that the problem will not be solved just by destroying the cowshed, as long as the mentality that you have to stop menstruating, even if you live in a cattle shed, a den or a tripal, is clear.
Therefore, awareness work should be carried out along with compulsory measures. For this, an awareness program can be carried out as a campaign through the media and social networks. Basically, menstruation is a regular process, since it is a physical matter, there is no question of getting angry or not, it should be emphasized through textbooks and other means. Similarly, information can be spread about the punishment to be meted out when forced to live in a slum. Western celebrities, who are against menstrual discrimination, can be used to present videos on social media.
The society should reduce the superstition by using those whose beliefs are more trusted. Basically, any kind of campaign cannot be effective if it is rushed and rushed. The result does not come out. should be collective and continuous.
