Mood swings, cramps, stains, hunger pangs, with a pinch of “beta achaar ko hath nahi lagana, mandir nahi jaana” (don’t touch the pickle, don’t go to the temple) are part of almost every girl’s period story. During this traumatizing time when we hear these illogical do’s and don’ts list, we wish we could shove the chapter of the biology book in their faces which their teacher conveniently managed to skip.
A friend of mine once expressed the situation at her home during ‘that time of the month’. When she started menstruating, she was not allowed to enter the kitchen or touch pickles but what bothered was this sudden belief in the practice of untouchability that arose just because she was bleeding. A separate chair was kept for her to sit. Anything she touched was immediately rinsed off with soap and water.
She was asked to stay in her room for three days after which she had to take a bath to become ‘pure’ and part of the family again. All the mattresses, curtains, clothes, or in other words her whole house was whitewashed. She eventually realized this circus of myths had been going on for decades. It’s heart-wrenching to see people in the 21st century still believing what their ancestors had told out of sheer ignorance.
Periods are as natural as sweating only they aren’t treated like one. It is our responsibility to start working from the smallest cell of this entire body, that is our home and drive this stagnant filth out of our country.