Image by burin kul from Pixabay 

Do you know what taboo is? If you’re from India I will assume that you not only know the google definition but also came across it many times in person.

India is full of taboos I can literally give you all a detailed example of it and that is why you are reading this currently.

Menstruation or periods in general, what is it in science language? A biological process right? Yes, it is, but some people can define it in a whole different way. During menstruation, a woman is considered as impure, the menstrual cycle & blood which plays the main role in giving birth to a form of life is considered impure. How does it sound? Illogical or logical? As a woman I personally find it illogical and maybe we are not on the same page. Women can’t touch anyone, can’t visit religious places, touch pickles and many more. It’s been several years since people are involved in these period myths in the name of God.

I agree that there is a logical reason for not allowing bleeding women to enter into kitchen. In ancient times and even now also women are found mostly in the kitchen feeding their families so during menstruation they were supposed to take rest and stay away from kitchen as this is the time when woman needs the most care, but in this modern era our minds are still stuck in a narrow pathway. We misunderstood the actual purpose of our ancestors in doing so.

A famous Hindu temple, Kamakhya Temple proudly celebrates menstruation and worships the yoni with great pomp since time immemorial. It is said that the yoni (female sex organ) of goddess Sati ‘fell’ at the ancient shrine of Kamakhya after her charred body, carried by grief-stricken Shiva, was divided into several pieces by Lord Vishnu. In the months of monsoon, Ambubachi Mela, a great festival is celebrated in the honour of Kamakhya, witnessing the largest gathering of people in the northeastern part of India. But what makes this temple and this festival so special?

The Yoni of Kamakhya bleeds during Ambubachi. Yes, you read it right! The great goddess herself gets periods! The water of the Brahmaputra river miraculously turns red every year during the menstruation of the goddess. During the ambubachi festival, the Yoni of Goddess is covered in cloth and the doors of Kamakhya temple are sealed. The bleeding Goddess is not disturbed for the next four days, allowing her to rest. The sealed doors of Kamakhya are opened the fourth day of her periods and the cloth covering her Yoni becomes red drenched in menstrual blood. Amazing right? But do you know what is most surprising? This cloth is greatly revered and received by devotees as Prasad. The menstrual blood which is considered impure nowadays is being distributed as a Prasad and is considered highly sacred at Kamakhya temple.

The message given by this temple is pretty clear and loud but we still are somehow unable to hear it. Neither our ancestors nor the creator of this universe wanted women to be considered as impure because of menstrual blood rather they celebrated and revered the power of every woman to create and give birth to life. 

Generation after generation people are shrouded into the belief that menstrual blood is the most impure thing, and menstruating woman should not even be touched by anyone. Anything she touches has to be purified first. This thinking has been spreading like a plague, and still continues to do so. Anyone who even attempts to correct this degraded thinking is shunned by their own people. People need to realize that any woman is the most sacred when she is menstruating. essence of the power (shakti) to create another beings flows out from her, what can be more beautiful and pure than that. The continuous invasions and people’s own reforms has ridiculed something that is so sacred.

In a society where menstruation is shamed and spoken about in ‘whispers’, where sanitary napkins are still wrapped in a newspaper or in black polythene, it’s high time we follow the steps of our ancestors and take a step forward towards these issues. I am extending my hand towards this by sharing my view on this and now it’s your turn to hold my hand and let our generation and the upcoming one be freed from these period myths. 

Let’s hold our hands together and move toward a better and healthier world where there is more love and less social issues. 

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