Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (May 28, 2019).

In educated and elite Nepali circles, a different kind of “menstrual huts” 

In Nepal, menstruation-related discrimination is usually associated with Chhaupadi, an age-old tradition of banishing menstruating women to animal sheds to live in isolation. The practice, which is highly prevalent in the far-western districts of Nepal, despite being outlawed in 2005 and criminalised in 2017, continues to kill multiple women each year.

But some sort of Chhaupadi is being practiced all over the world wherever Nepalis are living, regardless of caste, class and education. More by Tsering D Gurung here.

Home minister says those killed in blasts were not citizens, angering opposition

Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa said on Monday that those killed in a series of blasts on Sunday across the Capital were not citizens, inviting criticism from lawmakers over his labelling of the Netra Bikram Chand-led communist party cadres as non-citizens. More here by Binod Ghimire.

Blasts indicative of an intelligence failure, analysts say

Two deadly explosions that killed four persons in the Capital on Sunday have raised serious concerns over a possible intelligence failure in the KP Sharma Oli administration’s security apparatus.

The Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal is believed to be behind Sunday’s blasts, which, according to police, were accidental. CPN cadres were attempting to rig cooking gas cylinders as explosives when the cylinders exploded, according to police. These blasts come amid the administration’s continued assurance that it has largely reined in the Chand party. Click here for more by Anil Giri.

Meet Nepal’s ‘Pad Man’ who is challenging age-old menstrual taboos

Forty-one-year-old Maharjan believes that menstruation is not a taboo; in fact, it is a celebration of womanhood and must be treated as such, by everyone. This is why he does what he does—advocating for menstrual hygiene and providing affordable reusable cloth sanitary pads for women.

Thus, whenever he gets the chance, he talks to men and women about the benefits of using a reusable sanitary pad as opposed to the use-and-throw variety that most employ. Anup Ojha with the story here.