New Delhi (Sputnik): A senior Nepalese bureaucrat has launched a mission to eradicate the ancient tradition of "chhaupadi" in which women are exiled from their homes and forced to live in huts during menstruation.
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"The practice of "chhaupadi" is a religious ill practice that has killed many women. This deeply entrenched belief should be ended now," Shristi Regmi, Deputy Mayor of Budinanda Municipality in Bajura was quoted by Efe news.
Although Nepal's Supreme Court banned the practice in 2005, it is still prevalent in many remote areas in Nepal. Shristi plans to start her mission from Bajura where she will lead a team that will undertake the task of demolishing such huts.
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According to Shristi, she was deeply saddened by a recent incident in which Amba Bohara, and her two children aged 9 and 12 died inside a menstruation hut in Bajura and it was then that she resolved to lead a mass movement for eradication of the practice. Bohara and her children reportedly died of smoke inhalation because it was cold in the mountains and they lit the fire to keep themselves warm.