MENSTRUATION AND TABOO

Menstruation. Okay first of all let me define Menstruation. Menstruation, or a menstrual period, is the periodic shedding of the lining of a woman’s uterus. It is one of the phases of the menstrual cycle. The uterine lining breaks down into a bloody substance. It then passes down through the cervix and exits through the vagina. The process usually lasts from three to five days. Nothing weird right? Pretty natural process of a women’s body. Then why women in some parts of our country and even in some family systems are given a different and an unwanted treatment when they go through this process? Let’s dive in deeper…. Women are characterized as impure and cursed when menstruation takes place. Periods are considered as taboo, infact the orthodox mentality have made them a taboo. According to the Hindu mythology ,Lord Indra killed vritras and in the Vedas it has been written that this guilt of ‘brahmana-murder’ appears every month as menstrual flow ,as women had taken upon themselves a part of Indra’s guilt. So periods are termed as ‘guilt’ in Hindu mythology. On the other hand if we have a look at some mythologies in Greek culture a women with periods is considered as strong and inevitable and her blood is considered as ‘sacred’. In Africa, menstrual blood is used in the most powerful magic charms in order to both purify and destroy. But what’s common in all the mythologies -‘women should be set apart’ and my simple question is why? Sanitary pads were treated as ‘luxury’ under GST act and charged with 12 percent tax in 201. Luxury? As if women have a pretty ‘luxurious’ choice to control their blood flow. But this act over periods was soon taken down as protests and petitions were raised against the act. When the government treats menstruation as a luxury how can we expect to get over this ‘orthodox’ mentality? On the other hand films like ‘padman’ are a great initiative to educate the masses about menstruation and more such films and movements should be initiated so that menstruation can be treated as a simple biological process and not a ‘luxury’. Speaking about menstruation cannot be considered normal unless and until we ourselves take a initiative. There’s no need to bundle up the sanitary pads in a 8 layered newspaper packet, like a verified document, that’s a basic necessity for girls so why hide it? Girls going through menstruation have a pretty hard time and addressing them with words like Impure, unclean is just not cool. We live in the 21st century and taboos about menstruation should be eradicated as soon as possible. If someone is telling about menstruation just give it a ear and don’t eww yourself. After all it’s high time we should stop ‘Whispering’ about menstruation and ‘stay free’ regarding it.