Rothchild Jennifer, Piya Priti Shrestha
Morris, MN, USA
Kathmandu, Nepal
Drawing from life history narratives of 84 women in Nepal, we examine women’s particular lived experiences of cultural rituals, traditions, and taboos surrounding menstruation, as well as the practice of seclusion, which in it extreme form, sequesters menstruating women into menstrual huts (). Grounding our analysis in the specific sociocultural context of Nepali women themselves reveals important dynamics about gender formation, the perpetuation of power, relationships with one’s own body, and resistance to gendered constructions. These findings can then inform effective policies and programs to create awareness and change people’s understandings of and practices surrounding menstruation not only in the context of Nepal, but elsewhere as well.
基于对尼泊尔84名女性生活史叙述的研究，我们考察了女性在围绕月经的文化仪式、传统和禁忌方面的独特生活经历，以及隔离的做法，在其极端形式中，会将经期女性隔离在经期小屋中。将我们的分析置于尼泊尔女性自身特定的社会文化背景下，揭示了有关性别形成、权力延续、与自身身体的关系以及对性别建构的抵抗等重要动态。这些研究结果可以为有效的政策和项目提供参考，以提高人们的认识，并改变人们不仅在尼泊尔，而且在其他地方对月经的理解和相关做法。
