MENSTRUATION- NOT A SOCIAL TABOO
MY
EXPERIENCES OF MENSTRUATION IN THE KID
When I was a kid, I knew about menstruation.
I had two siblings and they were not allowed to cook nor do household works.
Not only that, they were not supposed to touch the male members. These were
also applicable to me. When I was at the age of 12, I had my first period. I
was not scared because I knew about menstruation through my siblings and
mother. My mother had told us about menstruation; what is it, what should be
done and why it happens.
Although I was not kept in a separate
room, I was separated. I was not allowed
to enter the kitchen and cook. Not only that, I was not allowed to worship god.
Grandmother was staying with us and she was a conservative person in terms of
menstruation. I was not allowed to touch
my brother. Whenever I used to touch my brother, she scolded. Not only this, if
I touched the food or water, she threw them. I was considered impure.
With the time elapse, I started
knowing more about menstruation. I tried a lot to convince my grandmother that
it’s a natural process and we don’t need to be treated differently. Even the goddess
had a period, people worship them but we are called impure. My grandmother was not convinced and said it’s
our tradition and we need to follow them. Furthermore, I again said that Sati
was also there but it was collapsed and in the same during the menstruation
time, women should be given freedom. Sati
was traditional, will you die? She remained silent and later with anger; she
said that I became over smart due to education.
Not only me, my father too wanted to
change this system. My father tried his mother to convince but he failed.
Later, when grandmother started living with one of my uncles, we were allowed
to cook food and started eating together. We were allowed to enter the kitchen.
My family has food made by me when I have my periods.
MY
EXPERIENCE WHILE PROVIDING TRAINING
I have one of the experiences related
to menstruation. It was in the year 2017 A.D. I provided training in some of
the private schools in Kathmandu. My training was focus on the ‘Menstruation
and Sanitary Pads’. There were more than
100 girls that I gave training. My focus was on how much they knew about
menstruation, health hygiene, how is the environment in the school and home
during menstruation and how long to use sanitary pads.
During the training, I was able to
know that most of the girls didn’t know that sanitary pads should be changed
after five to six hours. Not only that, schools didn’t have proper and clean
toilets. The school didn’t have a dust bin for the sanitary pads.
Furthermore, they have a male teacher
who teaches them health. Both male teachers and students feel uncomfortable to
talk about menstruation. Students knew much about menstruation neither from
teacher nor from families. They are not able to share or talk about
menstruation with their friends too because of the shyness and the conservative
thoughts of society.
Moreover, they are not allowed to
enter the kitchen and do religious work. They are kept separated during
periods. Although the families know that it’s a natural process, due to the
traditional concept, the girls are kept separately. Not only about
menstruation, but they also were not aware of chhaupadi. When I told them that
girls and women are kept in a hut far from their house during their
periods. They were shocked and in the
beginning, they didn’t believe it.
WHAT
IS CHHAUPADI?
Chhaupadi is a form of menstrual
taboo which prohibits Hindu women and girls from participating
in normal family activities while menstruating, as they are considered
"impure". Chhaupadi is practiced primarily in the western part
of Nepal.
During chhaupadi, women are banned
from the house and are required to live in a cattle shed, or a makeshift
dwelling known as a menstruation hut, for the duration of their
period. Childbirth in Nepal also results in a similar form
of confinement. During menstruation, women and girls are restricted from
participating in everyday life events, and from interacting with their
communities.
ORIGIN
The practice of chhaupadi
originates from the superstition that menstruation causes
women to be temporarily impure. This superstition arose from a myth that Indra created
menstruation as a means to distribute a curse. In this belief system, it
is thought that if a menstruating woman touches a tree, it will never again
bear fruit; if she consumes milk, the cow will not give any more milk; if she
reads a book, Saraswati, the goddess of education, will become angry; if
she touches a man, he will be ill.
The practice
persists in rural areas primarily in Western Nepal. It is also called ‘chhue’
or ‘bahirhunu’ in Dadeldhura, Baitadi, and Darchula,
‘chhaupadi’ in Achham, and ‘chaukulla’ or ‘chaukudi’
in Bajhang district.
HEALTH
AND SAFETY RISKS
Women are exposed
to multiple health and safety risks while practising chhaupadi. Huts are often
poorly constructed and lack heat or ventilation, leaving women exposed to the
elements as well as extreme temperatures during different times of the year.
Women are at risk of developing illnesses such
as pneumonia or diarrhea while practicing chhaupadi and are
also vulnerable to attack by snakes and other animals. The risk
of asphyxiation is high if a woman starts a fire in the hut to keep
warm during the winter. Women have also been raped while practising chhaupadi. In
addition, a study by Ranabhat et. al of women aged 12-49 in the Bardiya and
Kailali provinces of Nepal showed that the practice of chhaupadi is
significantly correlated with reproductive health problems such as dysuria and
genital itching.
While exact numbers
are not available, women and girls die every year while performing chhaupadi.
Particularly in the far and mid-western regions of Nepal, a number of deaths
have been directly related to the use of these huts. Causes range from being attacked
by animals, to being bitten by scorpions or snakes, to illnesses from exposure.
EXAMPLES
Some examples of
the deaths that have occurred due to chhaupadi:
An 11-year-old girl
died in January 2010 stemming from diarrhea and dehydration from being kept in
a menstruation hut. Both her family and neighbours refused to bring her to the
hospital because they believed that they would become impure should
they touch her.
Two young women in
late 2016 who died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning from
fires.
In May 2017,
Lalsara Bika, a 14-year-old, died as a result of serious cold-related illness
from living in a menstruation hut.
In July 2017,
19-year-old Tulasi Shahi died from being bitten by a snake "twice, on her
head and leg," while living in a cow shed being used as a menstruation
hut.
In January 2019,
Amba Bohora, a 35-year-old Nepali mother and her sons, aged 9 and 12, died of
smoke inhalation while living in their menstrual hut.
In early February
2019, 21-year old Parwati Bogati died from suffocation and smoke inhalation
after lighting a fire to stay warm.
LAWS
Chhaupadi
was outlawed by the Supreme Court of Nepal in 2005, but the tradition
has been slow to change. In 2017, Nepal passed a law punishing people who force
women into exile during menstruating with up to three months in jail or a fine
of 3,000 Nepalese rupees. However, in the five months, since the new law went
into effect (in August 2018), no cases have been filed against those enforcing
the practice. In late 2018, district governments in the far west of the
country began denying state support services to citizens still enforcing the
practice of chhaupadi, in an effort to reduce the practice.
WHO NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT MENSTRUATION
AND CHHAUPADI?
1)
STATE
They are the ones who have a responsibility to frame relevant
state policies, make decisions on budgets, provide strategic oversight and
monitor prgorammes.
2)
FAMILY
They are the first to understand and talk about menstruation.
They should create a friendly environment related to menstruation.
3)
SCHOOLS
Headteachers, teachers and school staffs play a vital role in
sensitizing boys and girls, ensuring they have access to basic water,
sanitation and hygiene facilities. They should too create friendly access to
the girls so that the girls can talk about menstruation.
4)
COMMUNITY LEADERS AND CIVIL SOCIETY
They can be role models as well as help to change society.
They can stop discrimination towards menstruating adolescent girls and women.
CONCLUSION
While
providing training to young girls, I came to know that many schools didn’t have
sufficient toilets. Furthermore, the toilets are not clean. Not only that, they
were not aware of how long they should wear pads. Moreover, they feel
uncomfortable to talk about menstruation. We have been hearing the news about
women who have died due to the chhaupadi. Recently, I read the news that Nepal
makes first arrest over ‘chhaupadi menstrual hut’ death in the western part of
Nepal. Its good news and it should be done further. Change doesn’t come that
easily. Although there is a law, it should be strongly implemented. Punishment
should be strong. Moreover, people should be changed. Their mindset should be
changed. The government should provide education and training in every community
and school. Rather than convincing older people, it should be done in the younger
generation because they are the one who changes the society. Documentaries and
films should be showed to the people about the disadvantages of chhaupadi so
that people can change their minds.
Furthermore,
schools and homes should provide a friendly environment to talk about
menstruation. Male members should create a friendly environment. Not only that,
schools should have sufficient washrooms with water and soaps. Containers too
should be provided and there should be disposal management.
REFERENCES
Comments
Post a Comment