Banished During Menstrual Cycle, Woman, Two Sons Die in Nepal Hut
The woman was reportedly staying in the hut as part of a practice that banishes women during their menstrual cycle.
A 35-year-old Nepali woman and two of her sons died reportedly due to suffocation during their stay in a windowless hut where she was staying as part of a practice that considers women untouchable during menstruation, according to a media report.
The incident happened in Nepal's Bajura district when Amba Bohora on Tuesday night, 8 January, had dinner with her two sons aged 9 and 12, and later went inside a hut to sleep, the Kathmandu post reported.
According to the report, there were no windows for ventilation in the hut, which was lit with fire for warmth. They reportedly died of suffocation due to the fire.
The next morning when Amba's mother in-law opened the door of the hut, she found all three dead.
"The mother and her children may have suffocated by smoke after the blanket they were using to keep themselves warm caught fire while they were asleep," a villager was quoted as saying.
While the bodies were sent for post mortem, the Chief District Officer Chetraj Baral said a team headed by the district police chief was sent to the incident site to probe the matter, the report said.
As part of the tradition, many communities in Nepal consider menstruating women ‘impure’ and force them to stay in sheds away from the family home once a month despite the practice being banned.
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