In Nepal, Exiled Each Month || June 2013 || New York Times Video || WEB
A short film documenting the monthly isolation of women during menstruation in Achham. Video by Allison Shelley, Reporting/interviews by me. Winner of WHNPA Eyes of History contest for video feature. Featured in the Pulitzer Center Film Festival and the Toronto Nepali Film Festival.
Women in Nepal Face Monthly Ostracization || June 2013 || New York Times India Ink || WEB
A look at the origins of the chaupadi practice and slow pace of change.
India’s Other Sexual Violence || February 2013 || The Atlantic|| WEB
Women in India face violence throughout their reproductive lives. In light of recent high profile rape cases, a look at violence against women and maternal mortality.
Perilous Delivery: Inside India’s Maternal Health Care Crisis || June 2014 || The Los Angeles Review of Books || WEB
A Profile of Malti Devi, the birth czar of small town Bihar, India.
Deadly Cycle: Chaupadi || December 2012 || Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting || WEB
In rural far western Nepal, chaupadi–a tradition of isolating women in animal sheds during menstruation–still lingers. This project explores fast and slow changes in the practice, the nuances of diverging opinions about chaupadi, and the deadly dangers women face each month.
Separation During Menstruation: Tradition or Torment || May 2013 || Women Deliver || WEB
Women Deliver is the largest maternal health conference in the world. This piece brought the chaupadi tradition to maternal health experts, as a reminder of the complexity of women’s voices in the field.
Transparency Travails || May 2013 || Christian Science Monitor || WEB
Amid Achham’s ripples of steep mountains, Nyaya Health is trying to not just transform health care, but also share every step they take. Sometimes the truth hurts.
Out of the Sheds||March 2013||Christian Science Monitor||WEB
“NGOs come and go, but we the villagers are here to stay.” A look at inside/outside perspectives on activism, social change and chaupadi.
Deadly Cycle || February 2013 || Pulitzer Center || WEB
Questioning gods and tradition when the chaupadi practice takes a tragic turn.
Chaupadi and Violence Against Women || February 2013 || Pulitzer Center || WEB
In light of recent high profile rape cases in India, a look at violence women face just North in Nepal.
Migration Meditation || December 2012 || Pulitzer Center Field Notes || WEB
A bustling, bursting Kathmandu is not the only consequence of Nepal’s urbanization. On the other side of the hills, houses and communities are quietly crumbling.
Quality vs Quantity || December 2012 || Pulitzer Center Field Notes || WEB
Nepal has succeeded in increasing the number of girls in school, but gendered work roles that place the brunt of house and field work on women-cutting into study time-still undermines girls’ academic performance.
Sex in the City, AIDS in the Country || December 2012 || Pulitzer Center Field Notes || WEB
Migration from Achham has fueled a quiet AIDS epidemic in this sleepy, rural district, as workers bring more than cash home.
On the UN, Youth, and Child Brides || April 2012 || Foreign Policy Association || WEB
High level denunciations of child marriage have little immediate impact on the lingering practice half a world away.