Its woman's week and there is so much talk about women being successful, getting empowered, rising despite challenges, conquering the odds, living happily single and taking care of children and family single handedly.
What is not spoken about is a natural phenomena still widely considered a taboo.. periods.
Let me ask you a biology question. What is the most important liquid in human body? Water. yes. Blood. Yes...
When it is ok for someone to bleed when hurt, what is it that's wrong with periods?
I have come across women shying their daughters to a corner in house, elderly ladies treating girls like untouchables, not let to do things they usually do and the worst thing women not educating their sons about the most basic issue that a girl has to deal with every month.
Bleeding is just a part of it. There is so much more that girls and women go through including mood swings, cramp, pain, lethargy, fatigue and what not, everything to be kept to herself.
I remember how I hated holidays that collided with my periods in school and college. I loved going to school and being one of all (than sitting seperately at home) I loved to play and give high fives. I liked to share the same benches and sofa as the others, enjoyed sharing lunch with friends (than eating alone), I was happy being a part of the crowd (than being looked at as if I had a contagious disease). Best was when I had them during school and college trips where I could sleep on the bed (unlike on the floor on a mat at home)
I came across this tradition followed in South Indian households where a girl's very first period is celebrated. She is pampered and decked up like a bride, friends and family gather, the elders bless her well. It was such a new angle to the whole issue, it intrigued me always.
We, on the other hand were raised with the ideology that it is best to stay home, not touch anyone, not to attend functions or marriages, not to travel, not enter the kitchen and going to the temple was taught to be a sin. Never raised a word against all of this, its a taboo to talk about it remember?
I once asked my mom "God is the one who created us, he made us girls and it is natural for us to have periods. Then why is it that we can not pray to him during these days?" "Paap lagta hai" is what she said. I wondered if what the south indian women did was paap...
My view on periods changed when we had a candid talk about it with our school biology teacher. She pointed out that it is completely alright to go to the kitchen, cook, play, do the all the usual things during periods.
I went back home and asked mom "When you go to a shop, would you ask the salesgirl if she is having her periods, would you not purchase what you need if she is? or if you go to a lady doctor, will you not get yourself checked if she was menstruating?" she had no answer to my questions, but I had got mine...
There are women everywhere and all of them lived their routine lives everyday, then how do we differentiate between the ones who are "Pure" and the ones who are not? May be there is not need for this segregation.
My husband did not know a thing about this, but when he did I realized his behaviour towards me during my special days never changed. He did not mind sharing food with me, he was okay with tarveling in the same vehicle. He also fought with me to make me sleep on the bed and not on the floor.
All the ideas that I was raised with regarding menstruation was nothing but someone else's convenience. Its time to make it convenient to girls and women too.
I am going to educate my son about periods in time and I request you to do teh same with your girls and boys. this is the only way we can help them have unbiased and uninterrupted mental and physical growth. There is nothing impure about periods. It is organic and healthy and there is nothing to be shamed of.
Proud of being a womaniya!!
CHEER!!
GOD BLESS!!
CHS
What is not spoken about is a natural phenomena still widely considered a taboo.. periods.
Let me ask you a biology question. What is the most important liquid in human body? Water. yes. Blood. Yes...
When it is ok for someone to bleed when hurt, what is it that's wrong with periods?
I have come across women shying their daughters to a corner in house, elderly ladies treating girls like untouchables, not let to do things they usually do and the worst thing women not educating their sons about the most basic issue that a girl has to deal with every month.
Bleeding is just a part of it. There is so much more that girls and women go through including mood swings, cramp, pain, lethargy, fatigue and what not, everything to be kept to herself.
I remember how I hated holidays that collided with my periods in school and college. I loved going to school and being one of all (than sitting seperately at home) I loved to play and give high fives. I liked to share the same benches and sofa as the others, enjoyed sharing lunch with friends (than eating alone), I was happy being a part of the crowd (than being looked at as if I had a contagious disease). Best was when I had them during school and college trips where I could sleep on the bed (unlike on the floor on a mat at home)
I came across this tradition followed in South Indian households where a girl's very first period is celebrated. She is pampered and decked up like a bride, friends and family gather, the elders bless her well. It was such a new angle to the whole issue, it intrigued me always.
We, on the other hand were raised with the ideology that it is best to stay home, not touch anyone, not to attend functions or marriages, not to travel, not enter the kitchen and going to the temple was taught to be a sin. Never raised a word against all of this, its a taboo to talk about it remember?
I once asked my mom "God is the one who created us, he made us girls and it is natural for us to have periods. Then why is it that we can not pray to him during these days?" "Paap lagta hai" is what she said. I wondered if what the south indian women did was paap...
My view on periods changed when we had a candid talk about it with our school biology teacher. She pointed out that it is completely alright to go to the kitchen, cook, play, do the all the usual things during periods.
I went back home and asked mom "When you go to a shop, would you ask the salesgirl if she is having her periods, would you not purchase what you need if she is? or if you go to a lady doctor, will you not get yourself checked if she was menstruating?" she had no answer to my questions, but I had got mine...
There are women everywhere and all of them lived their routine lives everyday, then how do we differentiate between the ones who are "Pure" and the ones who are not? May be there is not need for this segregation.
My husband did not know a thing about this, but when he did I realized his behaviour towards me during my special days never changed. He did not mind sharing food with me, he was okay with tarveling in the same vehicle. He also fought with me to make me sleep on the bed and not on the floor.
All the ideas that I was raised with regarding menstruation was nothing but someone else's convenience. Its time to make it convenient to girls and women too.
I am going to educate my son about periods in time and I request you to do teh same with your girls and boys. this is the only way we can help them have unbiased and uninterrupted mental and physical growth. There is nothing impure about periods. It is organic and healthy and there is nothing to be shamed of.
Proud of being a womaniya!!
CHEER!!
GOD BLESS!!
CHS
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