Holly Liebl

Is Social Control through Menstrual Untouchability Changing in Urban Nepal?

Supervisors: Dr Paul Jackson; Dr Claire Mcloughlin

As a continuation of my MSc in Poverty, Inequality and Development, Holly is investigating and researching the possible changing tides of menstrual stigmas, cultural norms and societal control for urban Nepali women.  Holly seeks to identify if change is occurring, to what degree and why. In my Master’s field work, Holly discovered the ambitions of urban Nepali women of various ages seeking to challenge and change societal control and cultural norms surrounding the silent topic of menstruation.  Although they have conveyed these aspirations, they’ve echoed numerous barriers they would need to overcome to achieve this new level of female agency in a dominant, highly conservative patriarchal society. 

While reiterating social control mechanisms and implications, Holly seeks to understand the connections between social control and social norms of menstrual untouchability.  If change is occurring, who are the mavericks, how does their life differ challenging these norms versus those who have been socialized to accept them, despite their infringement on human rights and freedoms?  These are the types of investigations and answers Holly seeks in this PhD journey. 

As someone who has established strong friendships and networks in the Kathmandu Valley, her research aspires to assist and inform grassroots efforts and practitioners in mobilizing patriarchal undertones that threaten reproductive, mental, social and economic well-being for local Nepali women and girls.