Women in Nepal Are Exiled Once a Month

The Peace Exchange recently began working in Kathmandu, Nepal, with a group of at-risk women, many of whom escaped inhumane conditions working for slave wages inside Nepal's notorious brick kilns and factories. Nepali women face many challenges — systemic, economic, and cultural.

According to the New York Times, 

In far western Nepal, many believe that women who are menstruating are impure and bring bad luck. And so they are exiled each month, leaving them vulnerable to rape and other horrors.

Rooted in Hindu and other traditional Nepali beliefs, the practice of banishing women from their homes during menstruation is known as chaupadi. Even though the Nepalese government outlawed it 2005, the practice still persists.