(Part 1/2) “When I came here to my husband’s house after marriage, I was only 16. I did not know the rules of my new home. I was not used to the new environment. In my parent’s home, I was used to going to school, spending time with friends, and playing sports. 16 years is the age of youth and one does not like confinement. Things were not the same here. My father and mother in law would restrict me so things. You see, the men and women who migrated here from the hills brought with them their way of doing things, their religion, and their belief. They preferred not to adapt to the new way of life and the new way of doing things. 

For example, girls/women did not dance at weddings. The instructions we were given were not to dance as it was not considered normal for women to dance where my in-laws came from. During weddings, births, and festivals, families would hire a DJ, invite people to perform but the women of the house would not dance. There were other things too and as a young girl, it became difficult for me to adapt to the new ways of doing things.

So after a family discussion, I went back to live with my parents. 2 years had passed and eventually, my father in law and mother in law came. They said that they have realized that I have my needs. My husband also accepted that I should be treated well and given proper space and place at his house. He came to collect me one day and I returned home.”

#BreakingTheSilence with Dignity Without Danger: Menstruation in Nepal