A government administrator says a woman and her two sons have died in a remote town in Nepal because of a tradition in which women are exiled from their homes and forced to live in huts during menstruation.

Bajura District administrator Chetraj Baral says the 35-year-old woman and her sons were found dead by family and villagers in a small hut Wednesday morning at Budhinanda, about 400 km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu.

Mr. Baral says an investigation has started and he is consulting with government lawyers on whether to press charges against the family because the practice is banned and punishable by jail time.