On August 8th, 16-year-old Anita Chand from Pancheshwar Rural Municipality-4, Fauli, tragically lost her life to a snakebite while sleeping in a menstrual hut.
Local resident Janak Bahadur Chand reported that Anita, a 10th-grade student at Jawalpur Secondary School, succumbed to a snakebite. The residence of the deceased young woman is situated near the heart of Pancheshwar Rural Municipality. Radhi Chand, the father of the deceased, recounted that Anita, who had fallen unconscious due to a snakebite at 1 am while resting in the hut, passed away within ninety minutes.
In the vicinity of Pancheshwar, two to three local residents fall victim to snakebites annually. Due to the absence of accessible snakebite treatment, the inhabitants of Pancheshwar and surrounding districts are compelled to endure fatal outcomes from snakebites each year, as stated by Bina Bhatta, the Vice President of Pancheshwar Rural Municipality.
Bhatta further elucidated that due to the considerable distance from remote Pancheshwar villages to the district hospital at the administrative headquarters, a span of approximately eight hours, a logistical challenge hinders prompt medical intervention.
Despite the enactment of legislation to eradicate the Chhaupadi system, it has come to light that communities residing in the remote regions of the Far Western Province remain uninformed about this legal directive. Regrettably, prevailing practices still reveal instances of discrimination against women during their menstrual cycles, encompassing restrictions on entering their own residences during this period.
Section 10 of the Criminal Code of 2017 explicitly proscribes acts of discrimination, untouchability, or inhumane treatment.