Ostracism from homes, places of worship and funerals – unwritten history of Kerala has seen thousands of such first-hand stories narrated by women for one simple, biological reason: menstruation. For long, it was a taboo subject people, irrespective of gender, referred to in code words. Recently, when the Supreme Court recently ended the century-old ban on the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala Temple, menstruation has become a hot topic of discussion – this time, the code word is ‘purity’.
Much ado over a biological activity resulted in a series of online and offline campaigns. The deep-running roots of the taboo surrounding menstrual cycle has prompted many persons, including womenfolk, to parade on the roads, silently accepting the ‘impurity’ tag, many others have launched a counter-movement online stating #womenarenotimpure.
Similar to the ‘happy to bleed’ campaign, through the latest hashtag campaign, women busts and unveils the age-old myths and personal experiences of being shunned from society for bleeding every month.
Writer Saradakutty is quite hopeful of the impact the campaign is about to make, “I don’t understand the logic when people, even women, say that they are impure while menstruating. It is 2018 and I think that in this era, people better have a logical explanation for any remark they make. For many years, women have been conditioned to live according to the whims and fancies of men. Everything possible has been done to oppress women. However, the independence they have gained over the years is solely because of their fight for dignity. Changes like Sabarimala verdict are just an extension to it. It’s high time people understood that changes cannot be stopped.”
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too had echoed similar sentiments during a press meet on Monday. “In older days, menstruating women, considered impure, were barred from homes and kitchens. But over the years, matters have changed. There have always been revolutions against barbaric traditions,” he commented, stressing on the government’s stance for equal rights to all.
Hailing the Chief Minister’s approach, Saradakutty expresses sadness at the politicisation of a biological activity. She also poses a query to the men who call women impure.
Social media is flooded with women sharing their experiences of discrimination faced while on menstrual period with many men offering showing solidarity to the campaign. Ardra V.S, an English literature student at Ambedkar University, Delhi, had posted one of her experiences wherein she mentioned that one of her friends regretted touching a menstruating ‘impure’ her. Expressing her views, Ardra says, “ It is sad that protesting the Sabarimala verdict, women are happily nodding to discrimination.” She expresses surprise that even girls of her age who pursue gender studies lamely follow such rules.
Artist Durga Malathi, who has made an artwork to support the campaign, says that her heart goes to those ignorant women who are becoming puppets in the political plays. “I would like to ask them why they don’t protest when a girl is raped or when a women faces domestic violence. It’s just because these protesters are not affected by all those. The fear of being at the receiving end when God starts showering his wrath is what makes them do this. It’s very unfortunate and sad,” she adds.
Journalist RoopaSree, who had put a post on her Facebook page detailing her experience with #womenarenotimpure, had to receive offensive comments. The nature of the messages was so humiliating that she had to file a case against the commentors. In her post, she says, “I am a believer who tries to go to temple at least once a month and pray to god. More than stories of god’s love, I grew up listening to stories of his wrath. They have always been ‘don’ts’ like ‘don’t go to temple while menstruating’. Since I turned seven, I have been asking my mother why I was not allowed to visit Sabarimala while my brothers could go with my father and uncle. I was told that Lord Ayyappa cannot see women. But every Saturday, we could go to Eramam Muthukattukavu Dharma Shasta Temple, which is known as Sabarimala of Malabar. I couldn’t understand the logic to substantiate Ayyappa’s abstinence from women. Eventually, my mother convinced me with the story of a menstruating woman who was bitten by a cat and died after she served food to her husband who was observing lent.”
Stressing that beliefs, rituals and scriptures need reconstruction, Roopasree writes, “And, I believe that menstruation and temple visit is not connected. I say this as a person who entered temples while menstruating. It took me a long time to take a rational stance in this matter. But later I entered temples quite naturally. (I am not aware of the Shiva who threw out Parvathi from Kaliasa or Ganapathi who rejected he food prepared by his mother). Despite historical evidences, many people still oppose women entering Sabarimala mainly because they blindly trust those who give all these reasons. It is a shame to support this ridiculous inequality.”
The campaign may not have any effect on the legal verdict on the entry of women in places of worship. However, in the long run, it will undoubtedly impact the mindset of people, shedding light of rationality for the coming generations.
