Menstruation: The Night mare of Indian Girls

This is not an article only for girls. It's for everyone so keep reading.

Menstruation in its basic terms marks the onset of the reproductive phase in a female individual during her teenage or puberty. It involves the discharge of the menstrual fluid which comprises of about 50 to 100 ml of blood, unfertilised ovum and ruptured endometrium of the uterus through the vagina in women. It is a cycle which starts at about 11 years and ends at about 45 years.

The question on the purity of menstruation has been put into our mind since ages and has been turned into a taboo.

But, the Indian society has not always been so inhuman. Menstruation was not always considered impure, but later played an important role in the subjugation of the women.

In ancient times, the menstrual fluid was actually thought to be pure. Scholar Janet Chawla in her book "Mythic Origins of Menstrual Taboo in Rig Veda" quoted:

Menstrual women in those days considered as Goddesses and as a symbol of power as people were amazed to find them bleeding without dying.

She also said that several Indian cultures of Assam and Odisha, menstrual festivals were observed during monsoons and fertile women were celebrated along with the fertile Earth. Even in South India, periods festivals were celebrated wherein a girl was dressed finely and gifted gold.

The reason this is seen as a curse is mentioned in the Rig Veda. According to a legend:

A demon named Vritra was killed by the king of Gods, Indra. But Vritra was a learned Brahmin and killing him was a big sin. The womankind was given the duty of taking away the curse through a monthly cycle that would wash away the sins. Thus the women became "impure". Classic misogynist story. Hypocrisy.

Now, we all know that all women have been inheriting this helplessness and facing it. 70% of Indian mothers think the topic of menstruation to be impure and often feel guilty and also ashamed of talking about this to their children. The women are completely ousted from all sorts of ceremonies. And follows a vicious round of repression that many people cannot take up and stand up against.

Most of the girls can't even afford sanitary napkins leading to a very high level of diseases. Even those who can afford it, due to the societal structure, they are forced to bury them after use during the night. According to Bill and Melinda Organisation, males take advantage of this situation to stand outside during the night and wait to rape women who come out due to this.

The only way to stop this is proper sex education, which is something Indian political parties stand unilaterally against. People need to understand how this misogynist structure is working with their minds. This barbaric practice needs to be stopped and anybody who menstruates should not be considered impure.