Kathmandu, Aug. 6 -- Kamala Auji's family moved from the mountains of Achham to the Kanchanpur plains in search of an easier life.

They bought a patch of farm and built a one-storey mud thatch house, and a smaller shed beside it.

Kamala her husband then left for India to work as labourers in Mumbai, earning enough to upgrade their little house into a concrete structure. When the house was finally ready in April, Kamala returned to the village to raise her children while her husband stayed behind in Mumbai.

But despite the family having moved into a new house, the dingy shed was still there. This was the, the menstrual hut in which Kamala spent nights during her periods every month.

Despite laws against it, menstrual banishment is sti...