Hi Everybody,
I have a genuine problem (Is it?).
I am an American art student and will be spending a semester in Nepal,Lalitpur with a Nepali family learning Nepali woodwork.
I have heard from my male friends who went there earlier that in Nepal whenever female menstruates you become untouchable and is not considered appropriate to participate in social functions.
What should I do when I have mine?
Should I tell the host about it?
Stop doing my daily activity?
Keep mum?
I know this is weird but I would like to respect my host families culture.
I hope there are girls around here who can give me approptiate answer.
What would you do if I lived with you or your family in Nepa?
Thanks in advance.l

Laura:

don think you are an american and don think you are an ART student at all !!

Laura: we write, lalitpur, Nepal and not the other way round.

your period has nothin to do with our culture, so u can have it as long as you want it .

your english is too naive, dull, and nepalized for an American !!!!

नेपालाँ चईनी केरे तरुनी केटीले पन्छिनी भएर डराम्न पर्दैन ।
बरु भएन भनी चईनी डराम्न पर्च, बात लाउनी भन्छन, सुहाम्दो केटालाई पोल्न पर्च, केटाले हैन भनो भनी
चईनी केरे पुलिसले जीउ मास्नी बेच्नी बेस्सेबिर्ती अर्नी भनेर जेल लान्च केरे तेस्तो पन्छिनी भएन भनी बरु।

Keep rolling...

I think in somewhat it is good that women are not allowed to work during the monthly cycle. As we all know that nepali women worked very hard in the village and they need some break so not allowing them to work during 3-4 days a month is a good thing. Also after the baby they are not aloow to touch any men or do some work it is also in somewhat good thing becasue they are already too tired from all those nine months and now they have a child to breat feed and take care so it is good thing that they can rest for 11 day or I am not sure how many days that they are still consider unclean.

Well, Laura, IF I were you I will not tell anyone about my period and just deal with it, Like I do at my parents home since they follow this tradition, even though they live in the city.

Here's a rough translation of Shree5's post for you...

In Nepal, a grown up girl need not worry when she has a period. But if she doesn't, she will need to explain why. First she will need to declare who the man is. If the man says it wasn't him, then you're in trouble with the law and police may send you to prison.

Kick,
do you think she is somebody "american" as (s)he claims?
if so, then why is s(h)e going to Nepal
>> to learn art as in
" I am an American art student and will be spending a semester in Nepal,Lalitpur with a Nepali family learning Nepali woodwork."

>> or to liberate Nepalse women as in
" still can't understand how half the population of that country can be sidelined just because of some natural process. "

A genuine American art student going to Nepal to learn woodwork would be the least f*ing concerned with his/her later saying.

And, if (s)he is still a real American art student, this is my suggestion to you dear
no nepalese is as uncivil and inhumane as a jusus-praying, Bush-worshipping looting-and-raping-bigtime-during-disasters, america-is-round-because-earth-is-round type of americans nobody gives you a shit whether you leak or not, its just your dirty business.

हाँसो ठट्टा गर्नी विषय पनि त एउटा सीमा हुन्छ नि यार, कुरीति, खराब चलान मन नपर्ने भए मन पर्दैन, कसरी हटाउन सकिन्छ भनेर पो सर-सल्लाहा गर्ने र, म मँगल ग्रहबाट आको, तेरो ग्रहमा पृथ्वीमा आईमाई कस्ता हुन्छन भन्ने पनि कुनै तरिका हो यार ?

And look at the legion of others dancing at his/her tune.

Shree5, like you believe that Laura could be a nepali, others believe she could be a genuine American. Everyone has his/her own judgment.
All I care about is, in this thread someone is asking for some advice, and people with experience and information are trying to deliver them. And that?s all. There is no need to be skeptical as being so does not serve any purpose at all. After all we are all cyber names and no one knows each other well to say what or who we are.

Laura don't let these people scare u, the family knows where u r coming from, so there will be compromises (or so I hope). Luckily in our family, we (ladies) never had/have to face discrimination at that time of the month. I have entered Puja kotha that time of the month and for some reason one of my friend was shocked to hear that. Her family on the other hand had a small house next to their house to go during that time of the month which I find amusing. I wonder what they call that house ;)

OMG, thats the most embarassing question ive ever heard, you cant just question that on public and these guys here are like stepping forward to help and post these messages OMG how gay is that anyways no offense OMG hahah M Still laughinG, even highfly posted on this thread OMG OMG OMG hahahaha :p ( its a lil you know a lil girly bussiee ) OMG HHHAHAHAH!

Well, People wake up. I do not call it discrimination, as Meera said. If you think about , it is more beneficial to women then men. They get to rest for 4 days in a month and 48 days in a year. It is almost like a vaccation for 48 days in a year. I am not taking saide here. Just analyzing Meera's statement.
What other ways do you think you could have protected your family from contamination? I call my ancestors very careful. They understood it back then and some of us still have ?. I am happy to call anything else but discrimination.

What is your view Laura? Do you call it discrimination? Let us listen to the American way of looking at it. Imagine! there is noTampon. No medicine. How would you deal with this issue? Please let us know any other way to solve this problem, if there is any.

OMGG you guys!! get your a$$ off of this thread :p

lol Babyphat, is not my idea a good one? Get knocked off then she does not need to bother for 9 months.

"""""Realize that there are many highly ignorant people in Nepal(most Brahmins and upper-castes), who wouldn't even come close to a White person. The caste system puts Whites just above untouchables""""".

Help me with this can u Thugged out?

suree whatever things, it still wasn't your bussie okay LOL .

sense,

I am sorry that your parents used to tie you with cows in your period. FYI, the things in the thread, I am hearing for the first time. Never heard in KTM before. May be in your village they used to tie you with cows.

I aint no brahmin. Actually I despise cast system. I hate it when somebody just take piss on Nepaelse as general.

Again I am sorry you had to spend nights in the cow shed

Tie you with cows omg for what? Is that a Nepali culture as well lol :o

hmmmm... not everyone is the same. Lot of people i know take this thing seriously and girl who have periods really can't enter the kitchen and the temples and the places where there are mini shrines. Whatever someone said about the fact that this whole 4 day being unclean thing is good is true...if all thought that it was for the good of the girl. But you know what...most people who take this really seriously are girls/women anyway. MOre than men...women are more conscious to this fact.

I don't care about the fact that they get to rest and get a break from the daily works since they are going to be tired and all. But i have even known people who have really said some bad things (i.e. treating them like they are dirty and pathetic ..blah blah junk crosses the line) to the girls if in fact they have come in their sight...(whether by accident or whatever)...and mostly it was from women that i have noticed. I don't know about men..but there might be...who's knows. Anything can happen ...

As for me...i don't care about what anyone thinks...so buzz off..!!!
Everyone... mind your own business and do your own thing.

I am not saying however that everyone is like that ....coz i have seen plenty who are all okay with the idea....after all it's a natural process. Ppl who don't like it...don't get in the way.

Highfly ,
am I getting u wrong or is it the other way round?...nevermind, the statement that I pasted was from 'thugged out' and the answer of the question followed was expected from him.
If this makes things clear for u then its appreciated ;)

May be this is useful as an information

Women hail menstruation ruling
By Sushil Sharma
BBC News, Kathmandu



The women are kept in the cow sheds for four days
Women's rights activists in Nepal have hailed a Supreme Court order to end discrimination against women during their menstrual cycle.
There is a tradition in parts of Nepal of keeping women in cow-sheds during their period.

The practice is common in far western districts of the country.

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to declare the practice as evil and given it one month to begin stamping the practice out.

The court reached its decision on Wednesday.

'Not enough'

Women's rights activists say the court has upheld their right to equality.

Pushpa Bhusal, a leading lawyer, said it was a positive move in removing the traditional discrimination against women.

She warned however, that a change in the law alone would not be enough.

She said people needed to be educated against such a scourge of society.

Women in poor villages in much of western Nepal are forced to stay in dirty cow-sheds outside the home for four days during their monthly period.

They are often given unhygienic food and suffer verbal abuse.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4250506.stm

fcukin culture, never heard of that OMG that sucks!! feel sorry for'em.
Having periods is natural and so like usuall stuffs, why would you make cultures out of that LOL thats just stupid.