大象传媒

In the centre of Patan City, Nepal resides a living goddess. A child as young as four is chosen to host a deity of invincible feminine power. But her reign as a living goddess is short. Upon her first period she becomes impure and her powers are believed instantly lost. She is retired and replaced. Transitioning from goddess to mortal she must then negotiate how to become a normal teenager.

Subin Mulmi, a lawyer with the Forum for Women, Law and Development in Kathmandu, argues this tradition, in particular the belief that the living goddess becomes impure upon her first period, is reflective of gender inequality experienced by women across Nepal. Whilst on their period many women are banned from visiting temples, from cooking in their own homes, some even ejected at night to sleep outside of their own homes.