In society periods means, a girl/woman who have bleeding from her vagina for few day. While at my home, periods means, a girl/woman who don’t have to cook food for few days. It’s sounds funny, but it’s reality. In our house, we even can’t say those words, “periods” or “menstrual cycle (M.C.)”. If someone have their periods, then they have to say they are unable to cook, not they have periods.
I belong to a so called well-educated family, where everyone knows very well that periods are a biological process. But still, we can’t say that word, especially in front of men. When I was a little girl my mother told me that in your periods days, you don’t need to enter the kitchen. At that time, I even don’t know what is the meaning of periods.
When I grew up and read about periods, I told her that it’s a biological process and it happens every month. Then why I can’t enter the kitchen. In summer, it’s very difficult for asking someone to give me water, sometimes they forget, what I said with them. I argued with her. The conclusion of our argument was, it all written in our scriptures that a girl with periods can’t enter in the kitchen and all those write by our saints and we can’t doubt on our saints or Gods.
I’m still unable to understand if there is cut in my any body part and it bleeding. Everyone look me in respectfully, but if same bleeding i have with my vagina and had a red stain on my kurta, they looked like i had done any sin. Realy, having periods is a sin???
Whenever, my younger brother asked why didi is not coming on family pooja, everytime my mother replied she didn’t take bath yet. There are so many restrictions in our periods day. I am not finding any logic behind all this.
Once I asked to mother, why i need to wrap my sanitary napkins in a black carry bag. She replied because it’s a shamefull thing. We can talk on sex with our male friends, but not on periods. Why we said shamefull for a natural process? It’s the process by which reproduction take place or by which we get our next generation, but still it’s shamefull. We have many seminars on this topic topic in our schools in a closed room, without boys.
Once i had my exam and have my periods between the exam, then everyone advised me leave the exam. Because red stain on your kurta is more shameful than your less marks. So what is more important my education or that red stain??? In our hostel days, we have to buy sanitary napkins with our pocket money instead books. Many of my hostel friends said gift them a bag full of sanitary napkins on their marriage day. The cost of sanitary napkins, sometimes costs many girls dreams.
In our country many girls not using sanitary napkins, so you can gift them sanitary napkins instead of chadawa in temple on your special days. Periods are not any shameful thing, it’s a natural process.