Nepal makes first arrest over menstruation huts

KATHMANDU: Nepali police have detained the brother-in-law of a woman who died in a 'menstruation hut' in what is believed to be the first arrest over the outlawed tradition, officials said Friday. Many communities in Nepal view menstruating women as impure and in some remote areas they are forced to sleep in a hut away from the home, following a centuries-old tradition known as "chhaupadi". The practice leads to the death of women every year due to smoke inhalation, snake bites and even attack by animals. Parbati Buda Rawat, 21, was found dead on Sunday morning in the western Accham district in a smoke-filled hut because of a fire she had lit to keep warm. "We arrested the brother-in law of the victim yesterday for investigation after suspecting his involvement in forcing the deceased to stay in chhaupadi shed," local police official Janak Bahadur Shahi told AFP. "I believe this is the first arrest in such a case." If convicted, the man will serve a three-month jail sentence and be fined 3,000 Nepali rupees (US $27) under a law introduced last year against anyone cau­ght imposing chhaupadi.

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