Menstruation No Longer A Taboo

Britti Aryal

Menstruation is a natural biological process and a normal reality of a woman’s life. Still, menstrual health and hygiene are treated as a matter of taboo. The deeply rooted cultural and religious belief that menstruation is spiritually polluting still exists. Instead of being accepted as a natural process signifying a girl’s entry into adulthood, menstruation is associated with restrictions, shame, and superstitious beliefs.

Consequently, pubescent girls and women of menstruating age are often victims of menstrual restrictions. Even my grandma doesn’t allow me to enter the temple. She doesn’t let me attend religious and social gatherings.  One day, I was just watering the plants when she screamed so loud asking me not to touch them. She says, there lie gods and goddesses in every plant and they become angry if we touch them during the monthly cycle.  

Women are not allowed to touch the male family members and, if touched unknowingly, should follow various rituals (bathing with gold dipped water) to purify themselves. Also, having to purify own self and the bed on the fourth day of menstruation. It is believed to bring bad fortune if we don’t strictly follow the menstrual restrictions imposed on us, says my grandma. This scares me a bit. I think it will have a bad implication for my family if I do not properly follow the restrictions. Such thinking has been entrenched in us.

Even though times are now changing, and menstruation-related awareness is picking up, there is still an impending fear that girls will carry the insecurity and anxiousness of menstruation with them. People still find it uncomfortable to bring up among friends and families. Speaking about menstruation has not been an easy and open conversation yet. The culture to cover menstrual pads in a piece of the newspaper when getting a packet from a medical shop clearly defines how people eminently respond to the natural cycle. It’s awkward and uncomfortable for people and is reluctant to discuss the experience.

Menstruation conversations fluster people. Communicating about menstrual cramps or asking for leave due to menstrual pain is fiddly. A society’s crappy culture has made us feel embarrassed about our own natural bodily function. Despite focusing on menstrual hygiene, and providing women with proper toilets, clean water, and privacy to change and dispose of sanitary napkins during the menstrual period, we are here stuck in the idea of sin and purity which is one of the reasons why women feel guilty and abashed for going through their monthly cycle.  

We, as a society, have not even come close to addressing the issues related to menstrual health. No one has really made an effort to think of what women go through. So, it’s now time to normalise. We need to create a society that is open to talking about menstruation. This isn’t just about women. Everyone needs to be able to talk about it openly. We have a long way to go and it takes everyone to bring a change in society.