Chhaupadi huts issue in Nepal

Chhaupadi is an outlawed practice in Nepal. Chhaupadi huts or menstruation huts are used in western parts of Nepal to isolate women during their menstruation and after child birth away from the society. They are not allowed to touch others, food, religious icons etc. during this forced exile. These huts are often uninhabitable and cramped and has caused the death of at least 3 women this year despite Nepal having banned the practice in 2005. The Chhaupadi huts were criminalized in 2017 by the Nepal government. These huts cause death of women, adolescent girls and children due to suffocation from smoke from the fire lit to warm the room, snake bites, diarrhea, pneumonia and other animal attacks. This menstrual taboo is still widespread in the rural parts of Nepal where it is believed to ward off bad luck. The issue was in news when a man was arrested for confining his sister in a Chhaupadi hut.