Sarjana Kc ________________________________ [‘Impacts on social well-being of women due to the CHHAUPADI tradition (Being untouchable during menstruation) among the women of far western Nepal’] [A case study of the 'CHHAUPADI' tradition (a form of culture based gender discrimination) in Achham district, Far Western Region, Nepal] 0 Master’s thesis in Impacts on social well-being of women due to the CHHAUPADI tradition (Being untouchable during menstruation) among the women of far western Nepal’ Thesis submitted for the fulfilment of master degree in International Social Welfare and Health Policy November 2018 OsloMet- Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo, Norway a 1. ABSTRACT Introduction: Menstrual cycle is normally a physiological process in women which occurs during their active reproductive years. However, menstruation is perceived in different ways in different countries, societies, cultures and religions. Menstruating women are still perceived as impure and unclean during menstruation and it is still perceived as a taboo in many societies in the world. Menstrual bleeding is perceived as extreme impurity in some districts of far western region of Nepal and extreme discriminatory menstrual practices imposed on menstruating women and on women with new-born baby (during the first 14 days of the post-partum period). They are considered impure confined to isolated, unsanitary huts. Traditionally, this extreme form of discriminatory menstrual practice is called Chhaupadi. The Chhaupadi tradition is banned and outlawed by the constitution of Nepal in 2005 and criminalised by the government of Nepal in 2017. However, this is still practiced in far western region of the Nepal. Objective: The aim of this thesis research is to find impacts on the social well-being of the women in the Achham district of far western region of the Nepal due to the Chhaupadi tradition, and to put better light on the plight of the women`s condition due to this tradition. Methods: Data were collected through observation, semi-structured interview, serendipity data collection method and purposeful maximal sampling method. It was conducted in-depth interview with 3 key participants, formal interview with 8 respondents, and informal discussions with various informants. Findings: The study shows that most of the women perceive menstruation as the natural process however, as the symbol of impurity and sin. Chhaupadi practicing women experience several challenges including risk of illness, wild animal attack, sexual abuse, social isolation and discrimination based on gender. Most of the people in Chhaupadi practicing community are still unaware of law against Chhaupadi. Those who have heard about Chhaupadi being illegal do not know how they can take action against it. And some of the community members deny the idea of criminalization of this tradition as they consider it as part of their culture. The continuation of practice is influenced by various factors like society, culture, family, lack of awareness about the menstruation, fear of being isolated from society etc. Conclusion: The Chhaupadi practicing women are at high risk of physical illness, psychological stresses, social isolation, gender-based discrimination and accidental deaths in the Chhau-hut. These women lack social integration, are not socially accepted, they feel hopeless about their situation and lack the awareness about menstruation, legal establishment against the Chhaupadi practice and they see no hope for a better life. This finding suggests that social well-being of the women is adversely affected by this tradition and this issue needs to be addressed. Key Words: Chhaupadi, Chhau-goth, Chhau-hut, Menstruation, Social well-being, Women, Gender discrimination, Far western Nepal, Tradition, Impure, Sin. b 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to pursue master degree in OsloMet- Oslo Metropolitan University, Department of Social Science. This thesis would not have been possible without guidance of my excellent supervisor Ida Marie Hydle, Senior Researcher/Professor, NOVA (Norwegian Social Research), section for Childhood, Family and Social Welfare. I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness to Researcher Ida Hydle as door to her office was always open whenever I ran into trouble spot or had question about my thesis. She consistently guided me, supported me and encouraged me to make this paper my own work, but steered me in the right direction whenever I needed it. As a supervisor, she has supported me more than I could ever give her enough credit on words. I am deeply thankful to my loving husband Dipendra Kc for his endless support for me. He believed in me, encouraged me, gave his shoulder to rest whenever I was exhausted during my thesis and he helped me to be strong, get up and keep going. He is happier than anyone else to see me completing this thesis. I owe him for his support, love and care. I am very thankful to my family for providing me unfailing support and continuous encouragement to pursue master degree. My special thanks to my father Bhimsen kc for his continuous support, motivation and encouragement to complete this thesis. My heartily thanks to my mother Durga kc for teaching me the value of education, for teaching me to learn to believe in hard work and for making me what I am today. And then of course I am very thankful to my brother Anil kc, and sisters Sharmila kc and Anu kc for their love and support whenever I needed it the most. I am also thankful to all my dear friends for their support and encouragement. My especial thanks to my friend Sujata Joshi and Arjun Kumar B.K. for encouraging and praising me in my every little achievement during this thesis work. I am also thankful to every actor involved in this thesis. I would like to acknowledge and appreciate their help and transparency during this thesis. c 3. DECLARATION I, Sarjana Kc do hereby declare to OsloMet- Oslo Metropolitian University that, this Thesis is my original work and that it has never been submitted for a degree award in any other University. Sincerely Sarjana kc d 4. ALL RIGHT RESERVED No part of this can be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recoding or otherwise, without a prior permission of the author or the University´s behalf. e 5. Table of Contents 1. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... b 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................. c 3. DECLARATION ............................................................................................................. d 4. ALL RIGHT RESERVED .................................................................................................. e 5. Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... f 6. List of Figures .............................................................................................................. h 7. List of Tables ................................................................................................................ i 8. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................. j 9. ChaPter I- Introduction and background ..................................................................... 1 9.1 Understanding health ..................................................................................................... 1 9.2 Culture based Practices and women’s health on international PersPective ..................... 1 9.3 Perception of menstruation on international PersPective ............................................... 2 9.4 Menstruation in Context of NePal ................................................................................... 3 9.5 Menstruation and ChhauPadi tradition in far western region of the NePal ...................... 4 9.6 ChhauPadi as culture and religion based Practice ............................................................ 5 9.7 Why is the ChhauPadi a Problem? ................................................................................... 6 9.8 Significance of Study ....................................................................................................... 7 10. ChaPter II- Research Aim and Research Questions ................................................... 8 10.1 Research questions ......................................................................................................... 8 11. ChaPter III- Theoretical Perspective ......................................................................... 8 11.1 Critical Theory ................................................................................................................. 9 11.2 Theory of suffering ........................................................................................................ 10 11.3 Feminist theory ............................................................................................................. 11 11.4 Five dimensions of social well-being by Corey Lee M. Keyes .......................................... 12 12. ChaPter IV- Methodological consideration ............................................................ 14 12.1 Qualitative research methods ......................................................................................