Kedar Acharya

Makawanpur, February 4:

Eighteen-year-old Sun Maya Praja (Chepang) and a mother of three children of Dhusarang, Kalikatar VDC-1, died of excessive bleeding last October. Maya’s husband, Kul Bahadur, had taken help of a village shaman when Maya’s bleeding did not stop. However, the shaman’s two-days of chanting yeilded nothing. Kul Bahadur had not the faintest idea that regular check-ups are necessary for the young mother.

Many girls like Maya are risking their lives in the VDCs of Kalikatar, Bharta, Raksirang, Khairang, Dandakharka, Sarikhet and Palanse, among others. Lack of nutritious food is taking a toll on their health, especially during their pregnancy as during the months of March and April, the Chepangs totally depend on arum, yam and other wild fruits and roots for food. Moreover, the Chepang girls are married off and become mothers at a very tender age.

According to Ram Bahadur Chepang, an employee at the Raksirang sub-health post, over half the women patients have pre and post natal problems.

A local social worker Raj Kumari Chepang said nearly half a dozen women die every year due to complications during delivery. Men in the community work as porters in commercial centres, leaving the womenfolk at their own and as such there isn’t anyone to take them to the hospitals in times of emergency. Lack of money and hospitals nearby add to the women’s woes, said Chhaina Chepang of Dhusrang. Assistant health worker at the Raksirang health centre, Ram Mani Silwal, said only 6 per cent of the Chepang women are literate and lack knowledge on family planning and child health. Even the menfolk have misconceptions about family planning. They think contraceptives make them weak and impede their path to heaven.

There are many women who have so far given birth to many children only hoping to give birth to a boy the next time, Silwal added.

According to the Govinda Red Cross Circle, Manahari, growing insecurity and the geography of the region are hindering their awareness campaign. Makawanpur DDC spends millions every year under the Praja Development Programme, but has failed to address the problems in the community, said Atinath Chepang, the social worker. Chepang social worker Raj Kumari said some women in the community, including herself, have started an awareness programme in the Chepang settlements.