Villagers in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu are grieving the death of a 14-year-old girl who died in a cyclone after being forced to sleep separately because she was menstruating. Her family told reporters that the girl was trapped in the hut when the cyclone made landfall. Cyclone Gaja is known to have killed at least 46 people in the coastal state.
Some villagers said this was a "wake up call" as it was common practice to segregate menstruating girls. Menstruation is taboo in large parts of rural India. Women are traditionally believed to be impure during their periods.
The family of the girl, S Vijayalakshmi, lives in a house next to the hut but they survived the storm. Her grandmother, S Visalakshi, said they couldn't rescue her as a coconut tree had fallen on the hut, which made it impossible to reach her.
Veerasena, a local social activist, said both rich and poor families followed the tradition of forcing girls to sleep separately while they were menstruating.
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