They also drew the attention of the Chief District Officer saying that despite the law being made against Chhaupadi malpractice, it has not been implemented and the people's representatives have ignored it.
What you should know
The girls of Mangalsen of Achham have taken out a rally against the Chhaupadi malpractice. Students of Shodsha Mavi in Mangalsen and other girls took out a protest rally on Tuesday with slogans such as 'You can't kill women, you don't need Chhaupadi Goth', 'Don't boycott menstruation, give respect', 'Implement the law', 'Let's end Chhaupdi malpractice', let's respect women's rights.
They also drew the attention of the Chief District Officer saying that despite the law being made against Chhaupadi malpractice, it has not been implemented and the people's representatives have ignored it. On the night of August 13th, Panchadeval Binayak Municipality of Achham- 8, a woman and a girl who were hanging a tripal to hide their tent during menstruation were killed by stones.
Girls say that even though the incident happens every year due to having to go outside the house during menstruation, they do not care about the concern. "Despite the incidents of rape and death in Chhaugoth and death in Tripal, the stakeholders have remained silent," said 16-year-old Yashoda Kuwan of Mangalsen Municipality-3 Day, who participated in the rally, "It has been 3 years since she started menstruating. I have been living in Chhaugoth since three years. In my village, there is one house and one neighborhood." She said that people's representatives, police and administration should implement the law and they will support it because the family will isolate themselves when they raise their voice that they should not live alone.
16-year-old Ishwari Bhat of Mangalsen Municipality-5 Bhatwara, who came to the protest rally, said that she is also living in a slum. The family never felt our pain. Even though it is a ward of the headquarters, the situation in Chhaugoth is the same,'' she said, 'even when two people died because they were living in Chhau Barn only a few days ago, no one speaks.
Yashoda Nepali of Mangalsen Municipality-3 Daya also said that she also had to live in a slum and her family members did not allow her to stay at home. "When I have to stay in a shelter every month, I am most afraid of snakes," she said, "many times she requested to be allowed to stay at home during menstruation." But no one agreed. We have come here with a lot of expectations from the police and the administration.
Chief District Officer Anand Saru told the girl who reached the district administration office on Tuesday after holding a protest rally that the implementation of the law would be phased. "We have taken the incident of premature death of women and girls due to Chhaupadi system seriously," Prajia Saru said, "We will hold a meeting of all stakeholders including public representatives soon and decide how to proceed."
He said that a campaign to demolish slums has been started across the district in collaboration with the police administration. According to the District Police Office, 113 slums have been demolished till Monday as part of the slum demolition campaign that started on Friday. Women's rights activists and human rights activists also participated in the rally.
