A 40-year-old woman was injured in a leopard attack while staying in a menstruation hut (chhaugoth) in Mohanyal Rural Municipality, Kailali district, on Sunday night. The woman, from ward 7 of the rural municipality, sustained injuries to her head and cheek.

After the attack, she fled the hut and sought refuge in a nearby shelter before being taken to Lamki for treatment.

Chhaupadi, the practice of isolating menstruating women and girls in huts or cowsheds, was criminalised in 2017, but it persists in some areas. Deeply ingrained superstitions surrounding menstruation in such regions often lead to the belief that violating the Chhaupadi ritual invites divine wrath and bad omens.