Ranisha Agrawal
Editorial Writer
It’s a popular opinion that “History is written by the winners”. But what’s the proof that everything written is concrete and cent percent correct? Our heroes have done great things but it doesn’t mean they never had any flaws. History depends on who is telling it. We all have to always agree that there are two sides to every story, and we should be smart, capable, and intelligent enough to hear both. Different people, different perspectives, that’s how it works and there are no conflicts in which one side doesn’t feel morally justified in their actions; that’s why your terrorist can be my freedom fighter. History can be an important part only if we are willing to lift up all the rocks and find the reality to shine our lights on what is lurking underneath. One such example I would like to highlight is menstruation among women. The word always evokes discomfort and embarrassment in the minds of people. Roughly half of the female population which is an estimated 26%of the total population are of reproductive age and spend 2-6 days of menstruation every month. Without menstruating “A woman can never become a mother and the future life for a new child comes to an end”. It is proven scientifically that This process in a woman’s body is very crucial as it matters for health, progress, education, and even for men. When something is so vital then why against it? But in present-day whether it be a man or woman we are told that menstruation is a sin and not a blessing. Girls are treated as impure,toxic are criticized, and avoided during those days.
I came across an article relating to “Kamakhya Temple” at Guwahati, where a festival Ambubachi celebrates the menstruation of the Goddess Kamakhya and water is dyed red resembling menstrual fluid. Since the vagina of Sati fell to give rise to the Kamakhya temple, it is believed that the Goddess suffers her periods for three days in the month of June as a result of which the doors of the temple remain closed. Inside the closed temple, the yoni of the Goddess is covered with a red cloth. I was overwhelmed that somewhere this tradition is respected and not neglected. But when I got to know that women are not allowed to enter this temple when on their cycle, my conflicting thoughts got keen to dig deep into this practice. Earlier women folk in rural areas were engaged in tiring works like cleaning, cooking, feeding animals, fetching water from rivers and many more so they were comforted and given six days of rest. They were not considered a curse instead for their well-being women were given delicate care. This was done not to neglect or humiliate but to take care of their health. Nowadays according to menstrual taboos, they are considered impure, untouchable, and unhygienic; family care turned into restriction, humiliation, and embarrassment. When a girl is on her periods she is treated like an untouchable. Earlier the women were not allowed to go to temples because the temples were far away and they had to walk away the whole route which wasn’t good for their health.
“People do not notice a bloody body on the road but always notice a blood stain on the skirt” .