MENSTRUATION RELATED MYTHS IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

The discharge of blood and menses from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina is known as menstruation or periods. Menstruation usually starts between the age of 12 and 15 years. The first menstrual flow that a girl has is called menarche whereas the last menstrual flow is called menopause. Menstruation is a part of secondary sexual characters present in females. Menstrual blood is the normal blood released from the body of women. However, in India, menstruation is a taboo and a lot of myths have been associated with it.

MENSTRUAL CYCLE

When a girl attains puberty, one of the ovaries release an ovum into the fallopian tube once in about 28 to 30 days because of the sex hormone called oestrogen. This is called ovulation. During this time, the inner lining of the uterus becomes thick and spongy. It is full of tiny blood vessels because it prepares itself to receive the egg. If the ovum does not get fertilised by sperm in the fallopian tube, the thick and soft inner lining of the uterus breaks. Thus, the thick and the inner lining of the uterus along with the blood and dead ovum comes out of the vagina in the form of blood known as menstruation. Menstruation occurs after 14 days of ovulation. It usually lasts for 3-5 days.

MENSTRUAL HYGIENE

Menstrual hygiene is extremely important for a woman’s well-being. It is more than sanitary napkins and clean toilets. At least 500 million women lack proper menstrual hygiene. In India, only one out of two girls is aware about menstruation before they experience menarche. Some important tips that a girl should follow to maintain menstrual hygiene are as follows-

• Sanitary napkins should be changed after every four hours.
• Reusable sanitary napkins should be cleaned properly.
• Vaginal area should always be kept clean.
• Two sanitary napkins should never be used simultaneously.
• Women should always wear clean, comfortable underpants.
• Used sanitary napkins should be discarded properly.
• An ointment must be used after a bath and before bed to prevent pad rash.
• Women should bathe regularly.

May 28 is celebrated as Menstrual Hygiene Day. The main aim of Menstrual Hygiene Day is to bring awareness amongst the adolescent girls and women regarding menstruation and menstrual hygiene. It plays an important role in empowering adolescent girls and women.

MENSTRUATION RELATED MYTHS IN INDIA

There are a lot of myths and taboos related to menstruation in India. These myths and taboos act as a barrier in the empowerment of women. The patriarchal system in India does not allow women to talk about menstruation in public. As a result, many adolescent girls and women remain unaware about menstruation and are controlled by these myths and taboos. Some of the myths related to menstruation in India are as follows-

• If a girl looks at a boy during menstruation, she becomes pregnant.
• The mother is responsible for the gender of the child.
• Girls are not allowed to enter in the kitchen during menstruation because they are impure during menstruation.
• Women should not take part in the daily household activities during menstruation because they are impure.
• Women are not allowed to enter holy places and should not offer prayers and touch holy books during menstruation.
• Women should not touch sour foods like pickles as it can contaminate the food.
• Menstrual blood is considered to be dangerous and can be used by a woman to impose his will on a man.
• If a menstruating girl or women touches a cow, the cow will become infertile.

IMPACT OF MENSTRUATION RELATED MYTHS

These myths and taboos affect a women’s emotional state and most importantly their health. At least 23% of girls drop out of school in India when they begin with their menstrual cycle. Menstruation is considered to be dirty and impure. Women and girls are prohibited to discuss menstruation- related issues in public sphere. This is one of the major reasons that women and girls are unaware about a lot of things related to menstruation. They blindly believe in the myths which are harmful for their health. Over 77% of women in India still use old cloth during menstruation. 88% of women in India use ashes, newspapers, dried leaves and husk sand during menstruation to absorb the blood. These are harmful and dangerous for women’s reproductive health.

CONCLUSION

We are living in 21st century. It is important to understand that all these myths are illogical, unscientific and baseless. They affect a woman’s health and also detrimental for their mental health. It becomes important to raise awareness regarding menstruation and its various aspects so that the social stigma attached with menstruation is eliminated. Women should be educated through mass public campaigns and sanitary napkins should be provided to women at affordable prices. Menstrual hygiene should be taken seriously in order to ensure empowerment of women.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION-

1. Is menstrual blood impure?

Ans- Menstrual blood is not impure. Menstrual blood is pure because there are no toxins released with menstrual blood.

[The author, Arsha Sharma is a 2nd year Ba.LLB(Hons.) student at The Law School, University of Jammu ]

[1] ‘Important message to all the women in the world on menstruation shame and taboos’ <https://ourgoodbrands.com/important-message-women-worldwide-menstruation-shame-taboos/> accessed 30 May 2020

[2] ‘It’s 2020 and Menstruation still remains a huge taboo in India’ <https://www.shethepeople.tv/top-stories/opinion/menstruation-taboo-india-gender-issues> accessed 30 May 2020

[3] ‘How to manage your menstruation’ <https://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Woman/Menstruation> accessed 30 May 2020

[4] ‘Menstruation: There’s nothing dirty about it’ <https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/voices/health/article/2017/05/26/menstruation-theres-nothing-dirty-about-it> accessed 30 May 2020