"I am illiterate because we were not given a direction. The direction for us was to collect grass, wood, and then look after the animals. That is how life has been spent. I got married at the age of 17. Then I came here to my husband's home and continued leading a poor life. I am almost 40 years old. I have 4 children. One daughter is married and the other 2 daughters and a son go to school. Now, I am happy about that. They will know more than I ever will. Life is moving on. Things are changing. There are hospitals everywhere. I gave birth to all my children in a hut and now with one sneeze, people go to doctors. It is good. Hospitals are better than dying from cough and cold. People have started saying that the way older people do things is not right. And with time, these need to change. Let us talk about us women. We are venturing out now. We are participating in meetings and we are telling them how we feel, what we fear, and how we want it. And they have to listen. And because we keep on bringing it up every day, they listen.
I never went and slept above the cowshed during menstruation. Never dug holes and put up bamboo for shelter during my period. I slept inside the house. But I did not touch the animals and drink their milk. I did not go to temples with offerings. If you ask me why we did or did not do all of this, I might not have a clear answer. I am asking my daughters to follow the same practices that I have. It is tradition and we have to respect tradition. However, I feel overdoing it and making yourself miserable is also not good. There has always been a way of doing things and we continue following it. Slowly, we are starting to ask questions. And eventually, all of these practices will no longer exist in our societies."
#BreakingTheSilence with Dignity Without Danger: Menstruation in Nepal
