Banished for bleeding: The women forced to move out of home when they have their periods

[CountAllVotes]

The landscape of Nepal is a geographical staircase, descending from snow-capped Himalayan mountains, through steep middle hills, to the lush flat plains of the south.

In the middle step, in the remote far west of the country, life has changed little over the decades.

For 18-year-old Ishwari Joshi, this means doing as her mother and grandmother did before her and leaving her home when she has her period.

The practice is called “chhaupadi” - a name for menstruation which also conveys the meaning that a woman is unclean when she is bleeding.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/banished_for_bleeding

[shenmue]

1. Stone Age thinking

[WhiteTara]

5. Millions of women died so this could be the

way of societies. When we became a patriarchal world, all things that give life were denigrated and demoted. Now the patriarchy is working to finish off the very planet that gives us all life.

[yodermon]

2. Straight from Leviticus

If I remember correctly

[Kali]

3. older than that

and many cultures practiced the women's hut.

it isn't just about shunning the "unclean" - I can see benefits as well, such as a few days of peace and relaxing from work, bonding with other women, etc.

[CanonRay]

4. Yes, many Native American tribes practiced this as well.

[CountAllVotes]

8. my mother was Indian

She had a lot of "rules" around women and menstruating women in her beliefs.

Many of them seemed strange to me but luckily there was no hut in the backyard with barely room for three persons to live in for a week or more. It rained a lot in the cold winter time, I remember that much.

A bed with clean sheets on it with a couple of blankets on it would be highly preferable one should think.

[wcast]

6. Excellent article.

This explores an issue that needs more open discussion. I thought the quote of telling women "there is power in your blood" it's the gift of life is awesome. I remember as a boy going to my grandmother's with my sister. My mom said dont look in the paper bag my sister had. Of course I looked and saw sanitary pads. I never knew she had a period, would never had known if my mom hadn't said that. It's an issue we never talked about. This was 35 years ago.

[CountAllVotes]

7. big secret indeed

I had a brother younger than myself. He was likely what is today called "autistic".

Curious boy that he was found some tampons in Mother's closet while snooping around. He had the box in his hand and he asked me why did she have cigarettes in her closet hidden away like that.

I remember telling him I did not know and I grabbed the box from his hand and put it back in the closet where it was hidden.

Sad in hindsight. This was in the late 1960s - early 1970s best I can remember.

Catholic families ... yep.

[angstlessk]

9. My entire 'woman talk' was my mother handing me a Kotex flyer about menstration

without a word that I recall.

Of course that was the early 60's...before women's liberation movement

[CountAllVotes]

10. Same here

No words about anything re: sex. Was asked if anyone said anything about it age the age of 11 and I lied and said no.

Great fun it was not before women's liberation and that thing called THE PILL.