chhaupadi
Tulasi Shahi  a Nineteen-year-old girl from  western Dailekh district was reported to have died after being bitten by a poisonous snake while staying in prohibition during her menstrual period under the chhaupadi tradition in a cowshed. It was reported that she was bitten by a snake while she was sleeping in the cowshed.

In Nepali tradition the Menstrual period of Women are considered impure and untouchable.  During the 7 days women are prohibited from daily chores and are restricted from any sort of public sighting.

In remote and rural villages, women are banish to small huts called chhaupadi or goth where they stay for 7 days during their menstrual period. These huts are hygienically not  safe and considered more risky in terms of women health. In many cases women have been reported to be raped and exploited where most of the time these cases are not reported and fall prey in view of family pride and prestige.

In 2005 the Nepal’s Supreme Court banned chhaupadi as a human rights violation, but due to its cultural and tradition it is widely in rural parts of Nepal. In a recent study in 2010 it was found that 19 percent of Nepali women practiced chhaupadi, but in the mid- and far-west, where Shahi lived, the figure was closer to 50 percent.Especially in western district, Jumla, the figure is around 74 percent.

The tradition lives on Nepalese community in the form of tradition where every year young girls survive the attacks and exploitation in the name of chhaupadi.