The practice of considering menstruating women as impure is derived from religious beliefs. Across Nepal, among the Hindu castes, there are practices of ostracizing girls when they have first menstruation. Such girls are kept in a separate room and away from the view of male members of the family. But this is limited to only the first time whereas in Chhaupadi system of western Nepal, the women have to undergo inhuman treatment every time they have menstruation and throughout their life.
The acute superstition and irrational traditions are put forth as excuses to compel all women of menstruating ages to live their life in seclusion for four days every month - leading to several anomalies in society as well as rise in their reproductive health problems. Women in Nepal are driven into isolation during their menstrual cycle, forced by their superstitious families and the society to live in dirty, isolated sheds where they risk contracting diseases and face other dangers such as rape and which has become a great cause of women's physical as well as mental weaknesses, their ill health, thefts of their personal belongings, molestations as well as deaths by infectious diseases or by accidental snake-bites or accidental attacks by ferocious animals.

Thousands of women in western Nepal suffer health problems and risk dying an unnatural death during their menstrual cycle because of the inhuman practice. This tradition is Rampant in the mid-western and far-western regions of the country, It is a system that has been in use for hundreds of years in the far western region — especially in Baitadi, Doti, Darchula, Dadeldhura, Bajhang, Bajura and even in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts including some parts of mid-western region, the practice of isolation is known as Chhaupadi. It reduces a girl or a woman into a commodity and lowers her dignity.

Chhaupadi is the word locally used for women’s menstrual period. “Chhaupadi” forces women in Hindu communities in the West of Nepal to spend seven days during menstruation in “exile” in a small cowshed or a special cottage called “Katero.” Belief has it that women during their menstruation period are not pure and therefore should not touch food, people, animals, and fruit trees and even to stay in their houses. They have to stay out in a tiny hut called a “Chhaupadi Goth”.
The chhaupadi goths are sometimes built almost a mile away from village. Hardly six feet wide and four feet high, they can barely accommodate two people. Although elite families build proper sheds, the poorer ones use extremely dilapidated and unhygienic outhouses made from mud, stone, and wood with no windows.

The practice derives from the belief that gods and goddess become angry if any woman is allowed to sleep, sit, or stay in her home during her periods. If a menstruating woman, particularly an unmarried one, touches a man, he will fall ill. If anyone touches her, he or she needs to be purified by taking a bath and drinking cow's urine or they will become sick. Similarly, if she touches a tree it will not bear fruit and will soon dry, and if she touches a pregnant woman, the child will be miscarried or be born with malformations. The women have to stay away from temples and other holy places. It is also believed that if these women are given milk, the cow will stop producing milk.

During this period, women are not allowed to take nutritious food; they are barred from consuming milk, yoghurt, butter and other nutritious food, and have to survive on dry foods and rice. They cannot use warm blankets and are allowed only a small rug. Many women have to prepare their food for themselves and stay in these unhealthy huts for a period of seven days.

The women usually stay in the huts for four or five days, and, on the fifth day, they take a bath, wash their clothes, and return to their home. They enter their courtyard after they sprinkle cow urine and receive "tika," a holy red mark on their forehead symbolizing purification, from senior members of the family to allow them to resume their normal activities.

Women are considered impure during the days when they menstruate and are barred from participating in normal family activities. They are not allowed to touch men and barred from entering even the courtyard of their homes. But this doesn't mean they are excused from work. In fact, they are compelled to engage in hard labor such as working in the fields, fetching firewood, washing clothes and so on.
Chhaupadi is also practiced after childbirth and is longer for girls during menarche. Although "minor chhau" requires a menstruating woman to stay in a goth for four or five days, "major chhau" is applied during menarche and after child birth and requires women to stay in huts for 10 to 11 days. And also after childbirth, a woman becomes untouchable for 11 days. Not only is she forbidden nutritious food, she is not allowed to use a warm blanket and uses only a small rug, putting the health of both her and her baby at risk. "As women are kept in the shed for 11 days after they deliver their babies, most of them become sick and some of them even die of infection that they acquire while staying in the unhygienic shed. This has been one of the important causes of high maternal and infant mortality in this region. This system has ultimately affected the reproductive health of women.
Chhaupadi System has not been abolished due to lack of education and awareness. People in far western region are still the blind supporters of any social and religious set up. They simply believe that religion means superstitions and the traditions that have been in practice for years. Most of the girls are uneducated and are not allowed to go school. There has not been any special programme to control this serious malady. It is very disheartening to see even the educated people are involved in encouraging this system. But this practice of Chhaupadi system is so much rooted into the culture, even educated people who know that this is a bad custom can not do much against it.
The system of keeping menstruating women away from the house has led to more dangerous consequences. Living in a dirty shed increases the risk of contracting an infectious disease and many women have respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases. Malnutrition is a problem and regular social exclusion triggers severe depression. The regular isolation and social exclusion has triggered severe depression and various forms of reproductive health problems among women. There are also reports of people stalking the goth and raping the woman inside. Compounding this, when a woman is raped they are driven out from their home because rape is considered a social stigma.

Tradition and religion propagates the practice and the older generations tend to enforce it. This system violates not only the right to health but also other general rights of women, particularly nursing mothers suffer from frail health because they are not allowed nutritious food. The cases of depression and mental trauma are also extensive. It is a complex phenomenon and there are several dimensions to it. It reduces a girl or a woman into humanness commodity and lowers her dignity.
The preamble of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, has ensure security of inherent human rights of the citizens, establishment of rule of law and has guaranteed political, social and economic justice as well. Article 11 of the constitution has guaranteed right to equality among all citizens, article 12 ensures personal liberty of the individual and focused on the protection and development of women. Directive principles under part four of the constitution also protect its women citizens. Different human rights instruments which Nepal has ratified such as International covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979; Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 also guarantees the rights to security and protection by the state.
Twenty-two lawyers had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking an order to stop the superstitious practice of chhaupadi goth. According to the writ petition, such a practice is discriminatory and against the constitution and international human rights law. The writ has sought an apex court order to the government to ban the practice.
Supreme Court’s has given a directive order banning “chhaupadi” custom which has unfairly regarded menstruation as an abhorrent thing. In an order aimed at eliminating superstition, the Supreme Court had issued a directive to the government to formulate laws to stop the practice of Chaupadi in the western and mid-western regions of the country. In places where Chaupadi is practised, menstruating women are forced to live in cowsheds.

These days, many women groups and NGO's are taking the cause of opposing the chhaupadi system, which is a good thing which makes us optimistic about the elimination of the superstitious, discriminatory and inhuman tradition in the coming days. The role of the social workers and the politicians is crucial to abolish this practice by raising their voice against this harmful disease of the society. Government should enact laws addressing elimination of this practice. Likewise some policies and awareness raising programmes should be launched. The prime responsibility will be that of the women themselves. They must organize themselves to live a dignified life by standing against this sort of religious flaw, mental torture and social embarrassment.