19 February 2020, 4:08 pm
Menstruation stigma?
This article has been preserved from The Voice Of Sikkim historical news collection and reflects information available at the time of its original publication.
Menstruation stigma
Menstruation stigma
Pakyong, 19 Feb : Whether its menstruation or menopause, talking about periods has often been a subject of taboo everywhere, there are very few cultures across the globe to have acknowledged that menstruation is a natural ongoing phenomenon. In a recent speech delivered by a religious leader from Gujarat said that menstruating women who cook food for their husbands will be reborn as dogs in their next life, while men consuming food prepared by women having their periods will be reborn as bullocks.
In the video, we can hear him warning men against consuming food prepared by menstruating women. He can also be heard admonishing women for being ?careless? about their menstruation period, which he likened with ?penance?. He is also heard asking men to learn how to cook.
How can anyone be fine with this comment?
Recently, we got the news of astronaut Christina Koch who returned to earth after spending almost a year in space women have gone to space and back and we as a nation are still thinking about who is going to be what in their next life if they cook while menstruating, no wonder India is a ?developing? county since the longest time. According to one report published in 2015, 23% of girls drop out of school when they reach puberty; another found that 40% of schools don?t have separate female toilets.
Therefore, there is a strong need of position for girls where they feel easy and comfortable about their ordeals regarding periods. Menstruation should be a child friendly topic to discuss about in schools and colleges, working women in their workplace also suffer from menstrual taboos. One can refer to Menstrupedia, which was launched in 2012; it is an online portal that focuses on busting menstrual myths and provides correct information.?Taboo around menstruation has really started to be seen as a threat to health and emotion of an individual. In further investigation of the origins and basis of menstrual taboo, or when simply looked at the perception of menstrual cycle in different cultures and religions, the root cause of almost every perception seems to be patriarchy. Therefore, the origins of the taboo certainly seem to be the discrimination that women have had to face from olden times. There is an institutionalized basis for these taboos to exercise control and authority over women, and?we must stop with the taboos that a menstruating woman is impure dirty or cursed or a menstruating woman should not enter the temple or the kitchen, buying sanitary napkins is embarrassing, that it should not be said out loud. Period!