Story highlights Teenager dies after being bitten multiple times by a snake 
 
 Activists in Nepal are campaigning against the continued use of menstruation huts 
 
 New Delhi (CNN) A teenage girl in Nepal has died after she was bitten by a snake while banished to a cowshed during a menstruation ritual that sees young women separated from their families and made to sleep alone. 
 
 The victim, 19-year-old Tulasi Shahi, from western Nepal's Dailekh district, was taking part in chhaupadi, a common practice in the west of the country in which women, considered unclean during menstruation, are sequestered for the extent of their periods. 
 
 It's a ritual that Shahi had likely endured many times before, but on Thursday night, alone on the floor of her uncle's cowshed, the teenager was bitten by a poisonous snake. "Twice, on her head and leg," the local district mayor Surya Bahadur Shahi told CNN. 
 
 Shahi's family members initially attempted to treat her using home remedies, before later taking her to a local health center, which did not stock the anti-venom medicines needed. 
 
 The monsoon rains had flooded the region's mountainous roads, making the three-hour journey to the nearest hospital all but impossible. 
 
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 An 18-year-old girl has died in Nepal after she was bitten by a snake while banished to a shed because she was menstruating, under an ancient practice that has been banned for more than a decade, officials said. 
 
 Tulasi Shahi was bitten twice by a venomous snake and died on Friday morning in western Dailekh district, according to local officials. 
 
 
 
 "She survived for seven hours after the snake bite but died because medical treatment was delayed," local mayor Surya Bahadur Shahi told AFP news agency on Saturday. 
 
 Web Documentary: Nepal's Menstrual Exiles 
 
 Some Hindus view menstruating women as impure and in parts of Nepal they are forced to remain in a hut or cowshed for day as part of a practice known as "chhaupadi". 
 
 According to local media, her family took her to the village shaman for treatment instead of taking her to a hospital. 
 
 
 
 Local police confirmed that a girl had died but were unable to provide further details on the cause. 
 
 Banned practice 
 
 Under the chhaupadi tradition, women are banned from taking part in normal family activities during menstruation and after childbirth, and can have no contact with men of the household. 
 
 Women who violate the practice are blamed for crop failures, illnesses and sudden deaths of animals. 
 
 Two women died in late 2016 in separate incidents while following the tradition. One of the women died of smoke inhalation after she lit a fire for warmth. The cause of death of the other woman has not been determined. 
 
 Rights groups say many other deaths linked to the custom likely go unreported. 
 
 Chhaupadi was banned more than a decade ago but is still followed in parts of Nepal, particularly in remote western districts. 
 
 READ MORE: 'I was scared. But the fear of sin was bigger' 
 
 Pragya Lamsal, a development professional in Nepal who advocates against the chhaupadi practice, said the tradition is not a "cultural issue, but a human rights and legal issue", adding that it "undermines a woman's right to life with dignity". 
 
 Lamsal also told Al Jazeera that although the practice has been banned, "menstrual taboos and chhaupadi traditions are still viewed as a private family issue". 
 
 Proposed legislation that would criminalise the practice and make it an imprisonable offence to force women to follow the ritual is currently pending in parliament. 
 
 Lamsal said that although such "initiatives from government and non-govermental agencies to abolish the tradition are ongoing," the government has remained "largely indifferent and has not put the issue as a priority". 

 AFP/Kathmandu 
 
 An 18-year-old girl has died in Nepal after she was bitten by a snake while banished to a shed because she was menstruating, part of a long-banned ancient Hindu practice, officials said yesterday. 
 
 Many communities in Nepal view menstruating women as impure and in some remote areas they are forced to sleep in a hut away from the home during their periods, a practice known as chhaupadi. 
 
 Tulasi Shahi was bitten twice by a venomous snake and died on Friday morning in western Dailekh district, local mayor Surya Bahadur Shahi said. 
 
 “She survived for seven hours after the snake bite but died because medical treatment was delayed,” said Shahi. 
 
 According to local media, her family took her to the village shaman, or witch doctor, for treatment instead of taking her to a hospital. 
 
 Local police confirmed that a girl had died but were unable to provide further details on the cause. 
 
 Chhaupadi is linked to Hinduism and considers women untouchable when they menstruate, as well as after child birth. 
 
 They are banished from the home - barred from touching food, religious icons, cattle and men - and forced to sleep in basic huts known as chhau goth. 
 
 Two women died in late 2016 in separate incidents while following the ritual - one of smoke inhalation after she lit a fire for warmth, while the other death was unexplained. 
 
 Rights activists say many other deaths likely go unreported. 
 
 Chhaupadi was banned a decade ago but is still followed in parts of Nepal, particularly in remote western districts. 
 
 Proposed legislation that would criminalise the practice and make it an imprisonable offence to force women to follow the ritual is currently pending in parliament. 
 
 Some communities believe they will suffer misfortune such as a natural disaster if women and girls are not sent into isolation when they menstruate. They are also not permitted to drink milk and are given less food to eat during their period. 
 
 Activists say the government’s response to stamp out practices such as the Chhaupadi system and child marriage in the Himalayan nation has been inadequate. But officials say they are battling age-old attitudes that cannot be changed overnight. 
 
 “We have launched different schemes but quickly removing practices that are deep-rooted in the society is difficult,” said Binita Bhattarai, an official from the women and child 
 
 welfare ministry. 
 
 “Changing mindsets and social attitudes is a time-taking process.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 An 18-year-old girl has died in Nepal after she was bitten by a snake while banished to a shed because she was menstruating, under an ancient practice that has been banned for more than a decade, officials said. 
 
 Tulasi Shahi was bitten twice by a venomous snake and died on Friday morning in western Dailekh district, according to local officials. 
 
 
 
 "She survived for seven hours after the snake bite but died because medical treatment was delayed," local mayor Surya Bahadur Shahi told AFP news agency on Saturday. 
 
 Web Documentary: Nepal's Menstrual Exiles 
 
 Some Hindus view menstruating women as impure and in parts of Nepal they are forced to remain in a hut or cowshed for day as part of a practice known as "chhaupadi". 
 
 According to local media, her family took her to the village shaman for treatment instead of taking her to a hospital. 
 
 
 
 Local police confirmed that a girl had died but were unable to provide further details on the cause. 
 
 Banned practice 
 
 Under the chhaupadi tradition, women are banned from taking part in normal family activities during menstruation and after childbirth, and can have no contact with men of the household. 
 
 Women who violate the practice are blamed for crop failures, illnesses and sudden deaths of animals. 
 
 Two women died in late 2016 in separate incidents while following the tradition. One of the women died of smoke inhalation after she lit a fire for warmth. The cause of death of the other woman has not been determined. 
 
 Rights groups say many other deaths linked to the custom likely go unreported. 
 
 Chhaupadi was banned more than a decade ago but is still followed in parts of Nepal, particularly in remote western districts. 
 
 READ MORE: 'I was scared. But the fear of sin was bigger' 
 
 Pragya Lamsal, a development professional in Nepal who advocates against the chhaupadi practice, said the tradition is not a "cultural issue, but a human rights and legal issue", adding that it "undermines a woman's right to life with dignity". 
 
 Lamsal also told Al Jazeera that although the practice has been banned, "menstrual taboos and chhaupadi traditions are still viewed as a private family issue". 
 
 Proposed legislation that would criminalise the practice and make it an imprisonable offence to force women to follow the ritual is currently pending in parliament. 
 
 Lamsal said that although such "initiatives from government and non-govermental agencies to abolish the tradition are ongoing," the government has remained "largely indifferent and has not put the issue as a priority". 

 KATHMANDU, Nepal — Every month when her period came, Tulasi Shahi was sent to stay in her uncle’s hut, the one where he keeps his cows tied up, in a village in the Dailekh district in western Nepal. This month was no different. She slept there on wooden boards laid on the ground, in keeping with a tradition known as chhaupadi that sequesters menstruating women from their families. 
 
 But while she was in the hut on Thursday night, Ms. Shahi, 18, was bitten by a poisonous snake. Her mother took her to a shaman, but he could not cure her. Then she was taken to a health clinic, but workers did not have the antivenom medicine she needed, her family said. 
 
 Ms. Shahi died early Friday morning. 
 
 “If she was given proper treatment, she would have survived,” said Kamala Shahi, a cousin of Ms. Shahi’s who works at a government health post. “She died because of superstition.” 
 
 The Supreme Court of Nepal ordered an end to chhaupadi, which is linked to Hinduism, in 2005. But it is still practiced in many of Nepal’s isolated villages, particularly in the west. A bill is pending in Parliament to formally criminalize the practice. Many people in rural villages believe that menstruating women are impure and can bring bad luck on a household. Under the chhaupadi tradition, the women are kept from taking part in normal family activities and social gatherings or from entering houses, kitchens and temples.
– Every month, 18-year-old Tulasi Shahi was among Nepali women and girls banished to a "menstruation hut." This time the shunning was fatal after Shahi was bitten by a poisonous snake, the New York Times reports. Shahi's mother took her first to a shaman and then to a clinic, which didn't have the anti-venom she needed. She died on Friday, seven hours after she was bitten, per AFP. Monsoon rains had made the three-hour trip from Dailekh, in the far west, to the nearest hospital nearly impossible, per CNN. "If she was given proper treatment, she would have survived,” her cousin, Kamala Shahi, tells the Times. "She died because of superstition." Although the Nepal Supreme Court outlawed the practice, called chhaupadi, in 2005, the custom still going strong in many isolated villages, where menstruating women and girls are seen as unclean and bearers of bad luck. In May, a 14-year-old girl sent to a cow hut died from exposure to severe cold while in seclusion, per CNN. Last year, two females died during chhaupadi, including one 15-year-old who died of smoke inhalation after lighting a fire to keep warm, per Al Jazeera. Human rights groups say other deaths probably go unreported. One report found that, depending on region, 19% to 50% of Nepali women practiced chhaupadi, per the Times. The Nepali parliament is expected to take up a bill to criminalize the practice, but one activist tells Al Jazeera the government is "largely indifferent and has not put the issue as a priority." Leading writer and activist Radha Paudel tells CNN, "Our girls and women are dying and the state is turning a blind eye." (More on the girl who died of smoke inhalation.)