Pithoragarh: Amid the battle over letting women of all ages enter the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, Haripriya Bisht (16) and her friend Rashmi (15), both students of a government inter-college in the remote Sail village of Uttarakhand’s border district Pithoragarh, have to sit at home for 5–7 days a month while menstruating. The reason? Menstruating girls are not permitted to use the road as there is a temple on their way to school.
“It is frustrating but we are left with no option. We have to stay at home,” says Haripriya, a student of Class 12.
Sail is close to the Indo–Nepal border and is about 100 kilometers from the district headquarters. “On an average, we have to sit home for 80 days in a year, thus missing school when we are menstruating,” says Rashmi.
The remote village follows the age-old tradition of keeping girls and women out of the kitchen and temple during menstruation.
The inter-college principal, CP Joshi, says they tried to change the mindset of the locals but were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the Pithoragarh district administration has formed a team to visit the village and gather details about the ‘ground situation’.
“A three member team has been asked to submit a report. The administration will take action after receiving the report,” said Vandana, chief development officer of the district.
Comments
0 comment