Chaupadi

I was reading about the practice of Chaupadi which takes place in many parts of Nepal - to various extents. I found it both interesting and scary, so I thought I would write a little of what I read.

Devout Hindus will practice Chaupadi, which seems to be the placing of certain restrictions on women during menstruation and childbirth when they are considered ‘ritually impure’. As such some women may be prohibited from cooking, in more extreme cases women are prohibited from contact with other people, including their families, and often have to go and stay in an outhouse. There are also restrictions on the food the women can eat during these periods of time.

This can have awful consequences. For example women can become nutrient deficient at a critical period of health; teenage girls may withdraw from school (particularly if sanitation facilities are non existent); and giving birth alone in a dirty cold outhouse doesn’t do the maternal and infant mortality rates any favours.

Maternal mortality ratio = 540 per 100,000 live births (UNICEF)
Infant (under 1yr) mortality rate = 56 per 1,000 live births (UNICEF)

Just as comparison, the UK data is:
Maternal mortality ratio = 7 per 100,000 live births (UNICEF)
Infant (under 1yr) mortality rate = 5 per 1,000 live births (UNICEF)

Therefore you are 77 times more likely to die of a childbirth related condition in Nepal than in the UK.

This practice also explains why many (but not all) domestic ‘helps’ are male. If girls are seen as unclean during menstruation, they may also be considered unable to work, because they need to be isolated for a certain period each month, and are thus less attractive to employ. Hence I have a houseboy??? Possibly not.