One roof for all: Tribal women in Gadchiroli's Sitatola join hands to end menstrual stigma

Indian Express

10-07-2025

Tribal women from Sitatola in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district have come together to end the centuries-old practice of isolating themselves in menstruation huts, locally known as kurma ghars.
Rejecting the taboo that treated menstruation as impure, women of all ages in the village have collectively built a space they call mawa askan lon which translates from the Madia dialect as 'our rightful home as women'. The structure now serves not only as a shelter but also as a community centre for meetings and support groups.
The initiative was spearheaded with support from Sparsh, a Gadchiroli-based NGO that has been working on eradication of the kurma ghar custom for over a decade. 'Our philosophy is simple: no woman should be forced out of her home due to menstruation,' said Dr Dilip Barsagade, president and executive director of Sparsh. 'This is a natural biological process. The emotional and physical support women need during this time can only come from family, not isolation.'
Barsagade said the NGO initially focused on sensitising male community members and traditional faith leaders. 'It seemed impossible at first, but through honest dialogue, mindsets began to shift. The women themselves were clear they didn't want to step into kurma ghars even for a minute.'
Over time, the duration of isolation reduced from five days to three, then two. Still, many households resisted allowing menstruating women into the home. That is when the women proposed an alternative: menstruating and non-menstruating women staying together under one roof. 'They believed this would naturally break the taboo,' Barsagade said.
When the women asked for a space, Sparsh agreed on the condition that it would not resemble a kurma ghar. The women offered to build it themselves through voluntary labour, constructing the mawa askan lon with support from nearby villages and minimal external assistance.
'Today, all the women stay together, menstruating or not. The stigma is slowly fading. Some still spend the day at the centre but return home at night. The space is now used for regular meetings and has become a symbol of ownership and pride,' Barsagade added.
To manage the centre, one woman from each of the 21 households forms a committee. They collect small contributions of Rs 10 to Rs 20 to cover electricity and maintenance expenses.
Boards in Madia language have been installed, educating visitors about the harms of isolation and reinforcing the message: 'I belong in my home, not in isolation.'
The kurma ghar system
Kurma ghars are small huts, often worse than cattle sheds, used in several tribal villages in Gadchiroli to isolate menstruating women. Many lack toilets, running water, or beds, and during monsoons, women are sometimes forced to stay in cow sheds as the huts become uninhabitable. Touching food, water, or household items during this time can result in social penalties, including fines or being forced to arrange a village feast.
Shakuntala Madavi, an ASHA worker in Ranipodur village, said the tradition remains widespread among the Madia tribe. 'Women eat alone, bathe in rivers, and are forbidden from interacting with others. Some government interventions have led to better-built kurma ghars, but many still use makeshift ones.'
Baby Madkame, an ASHA worker from Nelgunda village and a member of the Madia tribe, said the huts often lack basic facilities. 'Many women go into the jungle or rivers to relieve themselves. Even where proper huts were built like in Hitapadi – where 15 were constructed – they were never used. Roofs blew off in storms, and the huts were abandoned,' she said.
A doctor associated with the Jana Sangharsha Samiti in Gadchiroli added that in many villages, menstruating girls are not even allowed to touch rivers. 'In Binagunda, I saw girls barred from sitting in boats during their periods because the river was considered sacred. In Gondi areas, similar restrictions apply, though less strictly,' she said.
She recalled girls bathing only on the third or fifth day of their periods and being told not to touch anything in the house. 'We kept telling them this could cause infections, but the elders were adamant,' she said.
Are kurma ghars dangerous?
In 2011, Sparsh conducted a survey across 223 kurma ghars and identified 28 cases in which girls had died due to isolation – ranging from causes like snake bites and wild animal attacks to untreated medical emergencies like excessive bleeding.
'These deaths were never officially linked to the practice. But in each case, it was clear that isolation had a role. Nearly 70 per cent of the victims were between 11 and 37 years of age,' said Barsagade.
A more structured survey in 2012 reached 4,227 women and girls and further confirmed the dangers. The NGO submitted a report to the district administration, calling for urgent intervention.
When no action was taken, the matter was taken to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). A year later, the NHRC admitted the case and asked the Maharashtra chief secretary for a report.
Subsequently, the Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI) sent a team to Gadchiroli. Their 2014 report confirmed the risks and recommended coordinated interventions by departments like health, tribal affairs, and education, including awareness drives, block-level committees, and regular ASHA and Anganwadi worker visits to such huts.
'Despite the report, the recommendations were not implemented. That is when we decided to take direct action in 50 villages,' Barsagade said.