Kathmandu, Dec. 6 -- In the first-ever arrest related to the death of a woman while she was banished from home during her menstruation-a practice called Chhaupadi-police on Thursday took Chhatra Raut, brother-in-law of the woman, into custody.

Parbati Budha Raut died in a Chhaugoth-a period hut-in Sanfebagar Municipality in Achham district on Monday.

Chhatra, who was the guardian of Parbati as her husband and in-laws are living in India, was arrested on suspicion that he had forced her to the menstrual hut.

Despite campaigns to stop the Chhaupaid practice, many women, particularly in western Nepal, are still banished from their homes and forced to live in squalid cow sheds during their periods or pregnancy, which can expose them to ext...