World Menstrual Hygiene Day: Menstrual Health and Social Taboos in Nepal

Dikshya Awasthi

Nepal began observing World Menstrual Hygiene Day in 2014, the very first year it was marked globally. But today, on World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2026, themed “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld”, Nepal’s struggle echoes across an entire region.

According to activists and rights groups, nearly 90 % of women in Nepal still face some form of social or religious restriction during menstruation.

For centuries in Nepal, when a woman’s menstrual cycle begins, she is often banished to a dark, airless shed, with no warmth, no family, and no dignity. This practice of restricting women during menstruation stems from the belief that a menstruating woman is impure.

For generations, this stigma has turned a natural biological process into a form of punishment, forcing women into seclusion and barring them from participating in daily life, household responsibilities, and religious activities.

To make it even worse, women in Nepal’s far-west are subjected to even harsher practices; they forced to stay in menstrual huts called Chhau-Goths during their periods, a practice known as Chhaupadi.

These isolated structures are hazardous and unhygienic often leading to severe health risks, snakebites and even deaths.

With a legal intervention in 2005 came a respite as, Nepal’s Supreme Court officially outlawed menstrual practice declaring it a violation of human rights.

And 12 years later, Sub-section 3 of Section 168 of the Muluki Criminal Code of 2017 made it explicit – banishing women to sheds, or practicing any form of discrimination during menstruation, is a criminal offence.

Today, the law is existent, the reality is seemingly not.

According to activists and rights groups, nearly 90% of women in Nepal still face some form of social or religious restriction during menstruation.

Statistics also show that one in three girls in Nepal still misses school during menstruation, mainly due to social taboos and a lack of access to sanitary products in rural areas.
Even across some parts of South Asia menstruation remains one of the most deeply entrenched social taboos.

Globally, 500 million women and girls lack access to menstrual products and safe sanitation.
In 2021, the Supreme Court called for the removal of taxes on sanitary pads and menstrual products.

Stakeholders meanwhile have drawn attention to the need for menstrual health education and equal rights for women and girls.

However, the broader struggle continues for the necessary policies, infrastructure, and behavioral changes required to ensure safe, dignified, and accessible menstrual health management.##