Kamala Aauji, 28, of Nigali, Krishnapur Municipality-1 in Kanchanpur, returned from India in April. She had been working there as a labourer with her husband and came back home to educate her son.
Her sons, aged 6, 8, and 12, were enrolled in school and attending regularly. With the money she had earned in India, Aauji had also built a one-story concrete house in Krishnapur.
On Friday (July 11) evening, Kamala got her period. Following the traditional practice of chhaupadi (menstrual seclusion), she used to stay in a menstrual hut during her periods. A temporary hut had been built near her house for this purpose.
However, that Friday, she did not stay in the hut near her house because it was leaking due to rain. Instead, she went to sleep in a chhau hut at the home of her neighbour, Suke Aauji, who was also her elder brother-in-law. After putting her three sons to bed, she went to the hut to sleep, and there, she was bitten by a snake.
Realising she had been bitten on the left cheek, Aauji informed her neighbours. She was still able to speak when she called out for help. Locals even recorded a video showing the krait snake crawling near her bed.
According to her neighbour, Suchitra Shah, the snakebite was discovered around 12:30 am. She was immediately rushed in an auto-rickshaw to the Seti Provincial Hospital for treatment.
At the time, due to a high number of patients at the hospital, there were no ICU beds or ventilators available. Shah says it took almost one and a half hours before she was admitted to the ICU, and treatment began.
“We were informed during the night that she had been bitten. We immediately took her in an auto-rickshaw to the provincial hospital,” says Shah. “There were no ICU beds or ventilators available. She was admitted to the ICU only after one and a half hours. But unfortunately, we couldn’t save her.”
Because she didn’t receive treatment in time, Kamala took her last breath around 8 pm on Saturday.
Tragedy of Kamala
As she was forced to stay in a chhau hut during her period, Aauji was bitten by a snake and died prematurely, leaving her three sons unmothered. Her husband is returning home for the funeral after receiving the news.
Her body is currently at the morgue of Seti Provincial Hospital. Her husband, Puran, is expected to collect the body once he arrives home. Originally from Mellekh Rural Municipality-8 of Achham, Kamala Aauji had stayed in the hut because of the superstitious belief that gods get angry if menstruating women sleep inside the home.
Hemraj Ojha, the mayor of Krishnapur Municipality, said that awareness campaigns and demolition of chhau huts have been ongoing since last year to combat the harmful tradition of chhaupadi. However, such tragic incidents continue to happen in rural areas where the practice remains prevalent.
“While we were preparing to declare child-friendly wards, chhaupadi was identified as a major issue. We then launched awareness programs against it,” said Ojha. “Some huts of Ward 1 were destroyed, but the practice continues, resulting in such a tragic incident.”
Ineffective laws and campaigns
According to Mayor Ojha, the municipality has included a focused awareness campaign against chhaupadi in its policy and program for the upcoming fiscal year. He adds that communities originally from Achham still widely practice chhaupadi, forcing menstruating girls and women into seclusion huts.
Kamala Aauji is not the only woman to have died prematurely due to chhaupadi. Many girls and women in the Sudurpaschim Province have lost their lives while staying in chhau huts during their menstruation because of this harmful tradition.
On August 8, 2023, a 16-year-old girl died in Baitadi while sleeping in a chhau hut. Anita Chand of Phyauli, Pancheshwar Rural Municipality-4, was bitten by a snake and died.
The government had initiated a campaign to dismantle chhau huts in Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces under a policy to eradicate the chhaupadi practice. According to provincial police records, 7,545 chhau huts were demolished across seven districts in Sudurpaschim.
Of these, 230 huts were dismantled in Kanchanpur alone. Achham saw the most with 5,813 huts destroyed, followed by 557 in Bajura, 393 in Doti, 386 in Kailali, and 23 in Dadeldhura.
Despite coordination between local representatives and the Ministry of Home Affairs to demolish these huts, the recent incident in Kanchanpur is a glaring example that the campaign has not been effective.
On the other hand, even though there is a law banning chhaupadi, the tradition continues in Sudurpaschim with women still forced into menstrual seclusion against the law.
Chapter 10 of the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074, under the section on Discrimination and Degrading Treatment (Clause 168, Sub-clause 930), states that no woman should be forced into chhaupadi or subjected to any other discriminatory, untouchable, or inhumane treatment during menstruation or postpartum periods.
Violating this provision can result in up to three months of imprisonment or a fine of up to 3,000 rupees.
If a person holding public office commits this offence, the punishment will be doubled. Clause 169 of the same law also mandates appropriate compensation for the harm and suffering caused to the victim by the offender.
However, despite this legal provision, women continue to die prematurely due to the deeply rooted tradition of chhaupadi.
The educated uneducated
Pashupati Kunwar, an activist against chhaupadi, says it’s tragic that the tradition persists despite being legally punishable.
She points out that even educated and aware citizens continue to follow this harmful practice due to societal pressure and the belief that it’s part of culture and tradition, causing preventable deaths of women.
She also noted that while most campaigns have focused on remote villages, the harmful tradition is widespread even in the Terai, where people are presumed to be more informed.
“Even though people know that chhaupadi is a punishable offence, they still believe it is part of our tradition and culture. Educated and aware individuals still practice it,” she says. “Due to fear of social or legal consequences, they follow the practice secretly. The recent incident in Kanchanpur is an example of how chhaupadi is increasing even in accessible areas.”
She emphasised that local representatives must play a role in eliminating such social evils, but have failed to do so.
Kunwar demands that not just those who force women to stay in chhau huts, but also local officials responsible for regulation and prevention, should be held accountable and face legal consequences.
