尼泊爾15歲少女因月經受罰致死

Police in Nepal are investigating the death of a 15-year-old girl who was banished to a poorly-ventilated shed because she was menstruating.

尼泊爾一名15歲少女因來月經被關進一個不透風的小屋棚裏而導致其死亡，事件發生後，警方介入調查。

They say the girl suffocated after lighting a fire to keep warm.

警方表示，該女子在棚裏點火取暖，因窒息而死。

Under an ancient Hindu practice, called chhaupadi, women who have their periods or who have just given birth are seen as impure.

據印度教的一種叫chhaupadi的古老習俗，女性在來月經時或剛分娩後不純潔。

It was banned by the Nepalese government in 2005, but still continues in remote western rural areas.

尼泊爾政府在2005年就已取締了這種習俗。但是在偏遠的西部農村，這個習俗仍然存在。

The body of Roshani Tiruwa was found by her father last weekend in a stone and mud hut in the village of Gajra, in Achham district, 440km (275 miles) west of Kathmandu.

上週，在加德滿都西部約440公里（275英里）的阿查哈姆地區的Gajra村，魯沙尼·迪魯瓦的父親在石頭泥瓦棚中發現了女兒的屍體。

Some communities in remote areas believe that they will suffer a misfortune such as a natural disaster unless menstruating women are secluded. While in isolation they are denied their usual intake of food and are prohibited from drinking milk.

在尼泊爾一些偏遠地區，很多人認爲，如果不把來月經的女人隔離起來就會遭厄運。這些女孩被隔離的時候，通常不給飯吃，也禁止喝牛奶。

In many cases the huts that menstruating girls and women are banished to are shared with cattle and their excrement and are sometimes some distance from a village.

這些少女和婦女們往往被關進牛糞滿地的牛棚中，有時還遠離村莊。

They can be freezing cold in winter and stiflingly hot in summer. It is thought that many victims of the tradition suffer from mental and physical illnesses in later life.

這些屋棚冬季酷寒、夏季炎熱。很多受害者後來都患上精神病或其他疾病。

The chhaupadi rules mean that a menstruating female faces restrictions on where she can sleep, who she can see, where she is allowed to go and who she can touch.

根據chhaupadi這種習俗，來月經的女子在哪兒睡覺、見什麼人、可以去哪兒、以及她能觸碰什麼人都有限制。

Critics say the government has not done enough to eradicate the practice. But officials argue it is difficult to prevent such abuses when they are so deeply ingrained in local culture.

批評人士表示，尼泊爾政府沒有做出足夠努力消滅這種習俗。但是尼泊爾官員則辯解稱，這種習俗在當地文化中根深蒂固，很難防止類似事件的發生。