Once again Menstruation – a physiological aspect of womanhood is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. More than 60 college girls in a college in Gujarat were asked to leave their classes, queue up and remove their underpants to prove that they were not menstruating. This was done to establish charges levelled against the girls that they had entered the temple and kitchen in the premises in violation of the established religious norms.
There are several myths surrounding menstruation which in turn have given rise to social, cultural and religious norms that bar women from participating in numerous activities during their periods. They are considered impure and thus restricted from entering the kitchen, temple, touching the Holy Basil, pickles, etc. In many cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to bathe or wash her hair during the first three days of her period. In rural areas, after childbirth women are subjected to 30-40 days of postpartum confinement during which they subjected to innumerable dietary restrictions and are not allowed to meet even the child’s father. The period of isolation is supposedly meant to help her recuperate and tend to the newborn but, it mostly leads to her neglect. Sex during periods is taboo, not because of greater susceptibility to infection or any other hygiene issue but because of the belief that having sex with a menstruating woman has an adverse impact on the man’s longevity. It is also widely believed that menstrual blood is used in witchcraft by practitioners of black magic to cast ominous spells.
These beliefs are devoid of any logic or scientific explanation.
Discussions on this topic which play a pivotal role in every woman’s life are taboo. The secrecy associated with menstruation has made it the most misunderstood biological function. Women themselves lack a proper understanding of why periods happen or what happens to our body during this time. Elderly women in the community expect assured and undulating compliance with the established norms and censure all dissent. The hushed up manner in which this topic is discussed serves to reinforce the prejudices and no one wants to question the exclusionary practices.
There is a palpable tension whenever someone openly uses the term ‘menstruation’. Advertisements of sanitary napkins use blue ink to depict the absorptive power of sanitary napkins and such advertisements have an unsettling effect whenever the family is watching some show together. Now a day’s people have the choice of shifting channels in the garb of looking for some other program. Earlier when there was only one TV channel available, it was common to see family members initiate some very important discussion at the exact moment when such an advertisement came onscreen, in a bid to divert attention and avoid embarrassingly inquisitive queries regarding the product from youngsters.