Abolishing the tradition of chhaupadi the Nepal government through its parliament has criminalized the practice of chhaupadi as a crime. A law was passed unanimous on Wednesday by the parliament ending the centuries old tradition of chhaupadi.  The new law, which will come into effect in a year’s time, stipulates a three-month jail sentence or a 3,000 rupee fine ($30), or both, for anyone forcing a woman to follow the custom.  The new law comes in view of the recently tragic death of a  Nineteen-year-old girl from western Dailekh district who was reported to have died after being bitten by a poisonous snake while staying in prohibition during her menstrual period under the chhaupadi tradition in a cowshed. It was reported that she was bitten by a snake while she was sleeping in the cowshed.
In 2005 the Nepal’s Supreme Court banned chhaupadi as a human rights violation, but due to its cultural and tradition it is widely in rural parts of Nepal. In a recent study in 2010 it was found that 19 percent of Nepali women practiced chhaupadi, but in the mid- and far-west, where Shahi lived, the figure was closer to 50 percent.Especially in western district, Jumla, the figure is around 74 percent.
