Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Menstruation has been made a taboo which excludes women from several aspects of socio-cultural life. Its high time this behaviour stops!
“Stop sacrificing a women’s self–esteem at the Alter of Menstrual Myths”
In this modern era, science has done wonders and the world talks endlessly about women empowerment. Yet a woman has to face a lot of socio-cultural taboos attached with a natural process. Menstruation is the natural phenomenon of the reproductive cycle. It is a phenomenon unique to women. However, various taboos and myths that end to exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life have always existed. It is depicted by society as if a woman has committed a sin after getting her regular period cycle.
In India, a mere mention of menstruation is considered a taboo. Taboos are formed and established in a particular civilisation by the ever-lasting thoughts and beliefs from an era. They become so embedded in our collective psyche that we refuse to let go of them even when the circumstances in which they originated change. An approach from the socio-cultural perspective shows that in the earlier times those taboos had logical reasoning. However, with the growing times, those reasons converted into rules made for a menstruating woman in the name of religion and culture.
During the earlier times, there were limited means for proper hygiene. This was the primary reason why a woman was asked to take rest during the menstrual days and was kept away from the kitchen and the temples. However, now this has been largely misinterpreted by society as we can see from the case of Sabrimala Temple.
In some cultures, a woman in periods is not allowed to take a bath even now. Now let’s try to associate this with logical reasoning. Water is the most common medium of purification. In the ancient times, women used to go directly to the water bodies to take a bath. The key concern was to protect the water bodies which were considered to be Hindu dieties. They need to be protected from the pollution caused if menstruating women bath in them. This highlights the possible reason why menstruating women are not allowed to take a bath especially for the first few days of their menstrual period.
Till date, such taboos related to menstruation are present in many societies. They impact the emotional state, mentality, lifestyle of women and girls, and most importantly their health. A report by the NGO Dasra published in 2014 suggests that almost 23 million girls drop out of school every year when they start menstruating. This happens due to lack of proper facilities such as lack of sanitary napkins, proper functional toilets and low awareness about menstruation.
Further, a large number of women within rural India generally resort to using ashes, newspapers, dried leaves and husk sand which helps in absorption. Poor protection and inadequate laundry facilities may increase vulnerability to infection. Also, the odour of menstrual blood may even put girls at risk of being stigmatized. The latter having significant implications for their mental health.
Menstruation has been made a “taboo” and ugly, while it is a great blessing in reality. Nature has blessed us woman with the ability to live according to a sacred cycle. This sacred cycle helps us to honour our emotional, sexual, physical and mental needs every month.
So it’s time to remove all the superstitions attached with a natural process. Honour the women in her periods rather than discarding them socially, culturally and religiously.
Image courtesy – Annika Gordon from Unsplash
read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
It is shameful that in today's world too, women are abused and even killed for giving birth to a girl, and the infant's life is also of no value.
Trigger Warning: This deals with domestic violence, suicide, and violence against women, and may be triggering to survivors.
I am so glad that the esteemed courts are now giving the much-required verdicts regarding certain ideologies that were not at all entertained earlier. I mean we all have studied this much biology at our school level and it is our duty (our generation) to educate our elders about it.
Why someone have to lose a life to bring such awareness to the society. Delhi High Court gave this judgement concerning a case that filed by the deceased daughter’s parents against her in-laws. She committed suicide as she was harassed and tortured for dowry and giving birth to two daughters.
Please enter your email address