In Madia, Kurma Ghar, A Period House For Menstruating Women

In the Madiya community, as with so many other communities across India, it is believed that when a girl or woman has her period or Kurma, she must live in a Kurma Ghar or period house, for the duration of the menstrual cycle. These Kurma ghars or period houses are made of mud and cow dung, and have no ventilation or light in them, with no water or washroom to use. The shame around periods is so prevalent that the women living in Kurma ghars hang their soiled cloth pads on the thatched roof of the Kurma ghar and refrain from washing them or drying them under sunlight which might act to disinfect them.