“It’s my happy birthday, don’t touch me!”, I yelled once upon a time (in school about eight years ago) to one of my girlfriends who was approaching me to say hello.
As children girls were taught not to say the word period or menstruation in front of men or women so we used, ‘Happy birthday’ instead. We were also taught to think that women were impure or dirty during her period and shouldn’t be touched, so I stopped my friend from getting close to me during my cycle.
A few years later, I understood what was happening to me. I learned that women have a uterus which sheds it’s lining every month if the egg isn’t fertilised with sperm, and that’s why blood flows from the vagina. I wondered, why is that related to religion? To God? To being impure?
I realised that we were taught by brainwashed religious minds that didn’t know and still don’t know WHY they were maintaining a taboo subject. There is no clear answer because it’s been going on for years and their religious gurus also passed down these taboos. And for me, the cherry on the cake is that some women also religiously maintain the whole stigma, “I’m menstruating so I can’t touch this or that. It’ll become impure!”
Every household approaches this subject differently. Those that continue to treat women like outcasts must know it doesn’t make sense, but they continue as they are more worried of what people will say, while men dictate that their wives and daughters follow suit. Even now we often hide sanitary napkins in a newspaper and don’t use the word period in front of men like we are committing some kind of crime by having our periods.
We learn a lot of things from our elders and in most cases they are wise and learned, but for this topic I feel it is time to make a change and stop treating women as untouchables. I am clearly not committing a crime during my monthly cycle, nor am I impure when I shed the lining of my uterus, so let’s stop this taboo and recognise the natural process that is a part of being a woman.
About Priya Kanakia Shah
Priya is a certified image consultant and founder of Bespoke Image Solutions. Priya specialises in image management offering modules including creating personal style, body shape, wardrobe evaluation and closet organisation. Priya believes in creating a personal style that is unique, authentic and true to one’s own self.
Priya is also co-founder at The Holis Tree, which looks at holistic development of individuals using life changing education based on life skills. Priya also loves writing about social issues in India, parenting, relationship building and career development. She feels writing is a very strong tool which can change the mind-set of individuals.
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