Menstrual taboos and ancient wisdom
“Why am I not allowed to visit a temple during my period?” “Will the pickle really spoil if I touched it during menstruation?” “Akka, why do they tell us not to touch anyone, to sit in a separate room and eat from a separate plate when we get our period? Two thoughts play hide and seek in my mind as I try to answer these questions from young girls. One, that I should help them understand that these restrictions are not because they become impure or polluted during menstruation. Two, that I should never, ever, hurt their religious or cultural sentiments beacuse I have neither the knowledge nor the right to make that judgement. The latter makes it difficult to do the former, and so round and round I go in my explanations, at best being able to tell them that these practises have been in place for ages to ensure women get some rest during their period. And leave them with the thought that it is their personal choice to follow these or not. It is not once or twice that I have c...