A group of women and girls chat around a fire as they prepare to sleep under a rock outcropping in observance of chaupadi in Kalekanda village, Achham, Nepal, December 18, 2012. The space, shared by all of the village women, provides no protection from the elements. Deep in the Himalayan foothills of western Nepal, an age-old Hindu practice called chaupadi still banishes menstruating women-- considered unclean-- from their homes during their periods. Sleeping in animal sheds, caves or even out in the open, rape and deaths due to exposure and animal attack are common.
(photo by Allison Shelley)