Is criminalization the answer? Perspectives of community members and police on menstrual seclusion policy in Far-West Nepal

World Med & Health Policy

2022

Chhaupadi is a cultural practice where women are considered untouchable and forced to stay in separate huts during menstruation and child‐birth. There is limited evidence on the practice's causes and effects, and the objective of the current systematic literature review is to fill this important gap. The studies included in the review (n = 18) capture the experiences of women in far‐ and mid‐west districts in Nepal. Despite chhaupadi's criminalization by the government, 70%–80% of women in western Nepal are forced to practice it. The primary concern of the practicing women is safety. The practice is rooted in religious norms that consider menstruating women impure. Communities enforce chhaupadi by creating an environment of fear, telling women that if they do not follow the restrictions, bad things would happen to their families. A few studies examined the health implications of staying in chhaupadi huts and found negative effects. However, additional research is needed in a number of areas including on how the practice—including having to share sleeping quarters with animals—affects women and children's physical and mental health, childbirth experience, and post‐natal care, and how women are navigating the path between the community that forces them to practice chhaupadi and criminalization of the practice by the state.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chhaupadi practice in Nepal: A literature review

World Med & Health Policy

2022

“…In the chhaupadi practice, which we used as a measure of extreme seclusion, women are secluded and forced to stay separately in makeshift huts or animal sheds during menstruation. The practice has been described in greater detail elsewhere [25–29]. Briefly, the practice is rooted in patriarchy and Hindu mythology that considers women impure, thus untouchable, during menstruation and childbirth.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The practice has been described in greater detail elsewhere [25][26][27][28][29]. Briefly, the practice is rooted in patriarchy and Hindu mythology that considers women impure, thus untouchable, during menstruation and childbirth.…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most recently, in 2017, the government criminalized the practice, specifying fines and jail time for perpetrators through a criminal code. However, the enforcement strategies of this criminal code remain unclear and knowledge about the criminal code is extremely low [29]. The media has frequently reported cases of rape, assault, attack by animals, and suffocation to death of women staying in huts or animal sheds [30][31][32].…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Women’s Seclusion during Menstruation and Children’s Health in Nepal

Acharya

2022

Preprint

Objectives. There is limited empirical evidence from low-income countries on the effects of women’s seclusion during menstruation on children’s health. We documented the association between mother’s extreme seclusion during menstruation and children’s health in Nepal. Methods. Using nationally representative data from the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, we examined the relationship between mother’s exposure to extreme forms of seclusion during menstruation and anthropometric measures of nutritional status and health outcomes among children ages 5-59 months (n=6,301). We analyzed the data in a regression framework, controlling for potential confounders, including province fixed effects. We assessed extreme seclusion during menstruation based on women’s exposure to chhaupadi, a practice in which women are forced to stay away from home—in separate huts or animal sheds—during menstruation and childbirth. Results. Mothers’ exposure to extreme seclusion during menstruation was associated with 0.18 standard deviation lower height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) (p=0.046) and 0.20 standard deviation lower weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ) (p=0.007) among children. Analysis by the place of seclusion showed that the negative association was stronger when women stayed in animal sheds—0.28 SD for HAZ (p=0.007) and 0.32 SD for WAZ (p<0.001)—than when they stayed in separate huts. Extreme seclusion was associated with higher incidence of acute respiratory symptoms but not with incidence of diarrhea, irrespective of the place of seclusion. Conclusion. Women’s extreme seclusion during menstruation in Nepal has profound implications on the physical health of their children. Additional research is needed to ascertain potential mechanisms.

“…Most recently, in 2017, the government criminalized the practice, specifying fines and jail time for perpetrators through a criminal code. However, the enforcement of this criminal code remain weak, and a recent study has found that knowledge about the criminal code is extremely low in communities where chhaupadi is practiced [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s extreme seclusion during menstruation and children’s health in Nepal

PLOS Glob Public Health

Acharya

2022

There is limited empirical evidence from low-income countries on the effects of women’s seclusion during menstruation on children’s health. The objective of the current study was to examine the association between women’s extreme seclusion during menstruation and their children’s nutritional status and health in Nepal. Using nationally representative data from the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, we examined the relationship between mother’s exposure to extreme forms of seclusion during menstruation and anthropometric measures of nutritional status and health outcomes among children ages 5–59 months (n = 6,301). We analyzed the data in a regression framework, controlling for potential confounders, including province fixed effects. We assessed extreme seclusion during menstruation based on women’s exposure to chhaupadi, a practice in which women are forced to stay away from home—in separate huts or animal sheds—during menstruation and childbirth. Mothers’ exposure to extreme seclusion during menstruation was associated with 0.18 standard deviation lower height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) (p = 0.046) and 0.20 standard deviation lower weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ) (p = 0.007) among children. Analysis by the place of seclusion showed that the negative association was stronger when women stayed in animal sheds—0.28 SD for HAZ (p = 0.007) and 0.32 SD for WAZ (p<0.001)—than when they stayed in separate huts. Extreme seclusion was associated with higher incidence of acute respiratory symptoms but not with incidence of diarrhea, irrespective of the place of seclusion. Women’s extreme seclusion during menstruation in Nepal has profound implications on the physical health of their children. Additional research is needed to ascertain potential mechanisms.