Puberty is the stage at which every young woman starts to ovulate and ovulation is the primary reason behind menstruation. The age of puberty can vary from person to person but according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, on average, a woman starts her first menstrual period at the age of 12². Ovulation is the process when the ovaries begin to release an ovum (mature eggs). If the egg is fertilized by a sperm as it travels down the fallopian tube, it leads to pregnancy. The fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus (endometrium). But if the egg does not get fertilized then the endometrium, which prepares itself each month to provide nourishment to the fertilized egg, along with blood and mucus shed itself in the form of menstrual blood.³ The average menstrual cycle lasts 28 days. The cycle starts with the first day of one period and ends with the first day of the next period.

This process reveals a fact that it is the endometrium that provides nourishment to a foetus. This endometrium is the same lining that sheds itself in the form of menstrual blood if there is no fertilized egg attached to it. Therefore, a woman can bear a child only because of this lining inside her body. This nourishment is responsible for a foetus to grow into a healthy infant and without the process of formation of the endometrium, a woman can’t give birth.

India, although, is a secular country but still the religious lines demarcating the nation’s practices, beliefs, actions etcetera are pristinely visible. Some people manifest the glory of India in this diversity while others blame this diversity to give rise to the disease of communalism. Despite innumerable, varying beliefs of these religions, one front on which all religions have common ground is, degrading the position of women to a polluted creature because of a condition that is responsible for advancing the human race. Although there are different stories associated with the menstrual process being termed as a curse under every religion but there is no disparity in the conclusion reached leading to the women being labelled as polluted.

This chapter first explores the stories attached to menstruation under three religious heads and then analyses the problematic areas of these interpretations.

Although different religions in India have different notions attached to the history of menstruation, the most common story accepted all around the nation is that portrayal of menstruation as a taboo can be traced back to a Hindu mythological text called the Rig Veda.⁴ According to the text, there was a demon by the name of Vritra who withheld water from people and was called the demon of droughts. Lord Indra, the lord of water, killed the demon with a thunderbolt releasing water to the people. But Indra was laden with the guilt of killing the demon as the latter was a learned “brahman”. So, Indra went to womankind requesting them to take one-third of his guilt in the form of a regular cycle of repentance. Thus, menstruation was an eternal punishment that women were forced to accept to wash away the sin of Indra with their blood flow each month.⁵

The interpretation, as mentioned in various Hindu texts, was that since the menstrual flow manifests “brahamanhatya”, the blood was cursed and the women who were considered to be the source of that blood was believed to be under the effect of the guilt of “brahamanhatya” and thereby polluted⁶.

In the Muslim tradition, the curse attached to menstruation can be traced down to the koranic law⁷. Verse 2.222 of Koran (Koran 2.222) reads as:

“They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say it is an illness so let women alone at such times and go not into them till they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allahhath enjoined upon you.⁸”

As per the interpretation given to the verse, there are majorly two specific restrictions placed on women. First, she is being treated as a threat to holiness and therefore a menstruating woman may not visit any shrine or mosque and is forbidden to pray or fast in the month of Ramdan. Second, she is forbidden sexual intercourse for seven days after the flow begins and is considered “unclean” until she completes a ritual washing.⁹

The folklore attached to menstruation in Christianity is that when Adam and Eve were sent to earth, they were given just one caveat that was to not eat a specific apple of a specific tree. But Eve compelled Adam to take a bit of that apple which according to the folklore released all the evils and gave them an entry path into the real world. This made God sore, due to which he cursed all the women with this trouble for the rest of their lives.¹⁰ This was used by Dionysius the great, a third-century bishop of Alexandria, for the first time on record to advocate restrictions on women against menstruation. He indicated that such “impure” persons should not be allowed to be on positions of authority and be kept away communal table. Councils of the church upheld Dionysius’ judgment as authoritative in subsequent centuries¹¹.

These interpretations were done by the so-called superior genre of the society comprising of only males who found a great opportunity to put yet another burden of the lives of women till eternity to portray them in an inferior position. For each of these interpretations, there are texts which take contradictory positions.

In Christianity, several exceptions to the cursed expression by males towards menstruants have been put forth. One of them is based upon the fact that Jesus in the gospels was remembered for his criticism of the Levitical purification laws concerning women, leprosy, and foods. Two important churchmen in the early centuries of the church comprehended the importance of Jesus’ acceptance of “unclean” women.¹²

In Islam too, there are considerable disagreements over the rules related to menstruation. According to the authorities cited in the reports of normative practices of the female companions of the prophet Mohammad, it is believed that Koran does not specify the exclusion of females from any ritual devotion. Verse 2.222, which is used to proliferate the menstrual taboo, recognizes the potential of discomfort (Adha) being caused by menstruation (al-mahid). The verse tells the audience to remain aloof from the females undergoing menstruation and not to go near them until they are cleansed. By this, the verse is stressing on securing the well-being of the female rather than degrading her status to untouchable or cursed.¹³

In Hinduism, most Vedic experts have aired objection to this “impure” treatment theory. For instance, according to Acharya MR Rajesh, the founder of Kerala based Kashyap Veda research foundation, the Vedas never portrayed a woman who is menstruating to be impure.¹⁴ Similarly, according to historian NN Bhattacharya, there were several notions attached to this process in different parts of India and not any of those considered the process to be impure. Instead, the auspiciousness of menstruation, as it represents potential fertility, was recognized everywhere.¹⁵ This assertion can be established by the fact that still in many parts of South India, a big celebration is thrown for a girl upon her first period to celebrate her fertility while simultaneously stigmatizing everything which is attached to that fertility for the rest of her life.¹⁶

All these contradictory narratives are enough to conclude that it was not the mythological curses which attached the status of taboo to the beautiful life-giving phenomenon but what actually can be blamed for attaching a negative social status to menstruation are notions of fascism towards religion, superstitions and primarily, patriarchal interpretation of the texts. It would not be absurd (although maybe rebellious) on anyone’s part to ask, why a woman who was considered strong enough by Lord Indra to bear his guilt till eternity was given the status of being polluted and not a miracle? Why the interpretation of a verse in Koran, which was meant to protect a woman during her discomfort so that she could not be compelled by her husband into forceful sexual intercourse, was done in such a way to seclude woman from the mainstream during her menstruation and put the burden of not involving into sexual intimacy on her polluted body and not on unmanliness of her husband? Why the judgment of a church’s bishop was taken as an authority for centuries to exclude women to be on any authoritative positions in the church?

These are the questions that are still unanswered or rather suppressed by the linen of masculinity, religion and the inferior status of women in society.

In many households, women are not allowed to sleep on their usual sleeping places induced by the fear that she will pollute all the other things with which she will get in contact. In an extreme case scenario, a menstruating woman is secluded from the household and is required to reside in a “chaupadi” which is a house-like structure made of bamboo outside the main house. This practice is highly prevalent in Nepal¹⁷. There have been various cases where a lot of women while residing in seclusion were found dead in the morning due to smoke inhalation in that windowless hut.¹⁸ Another such instance was observed when Tamil Nadu was hit by Gaja cyclone in 2018. A girl of 14 years died after a coconut tree fell over the hut outside her house in which she was made to stay as she was menstruating¹⁹. Here, it was not the cyclone nor the tree nor the menstruation which took her life. Rather, it was the orthodox attitude harboured by people towards a biological process which made her family seclude her at a time when she needed more comfort, care, and hygiene.

Apart from that, the products used by women for their menstrual flow are still so archaic that they attract many diseases. For instance, many women in the rural setup still use cloth filled with rags or dust as absorbents.²⁰ Although there has been a reversed trend of women using cloth pads keeping in mind their health and also environmental well-being, but the problem associated with these clothe pads is two-fold- firstly, rural women are not aware of the ways of sanitizing these clothes and also because of the taboo attached to menstruation they do not hang these clothes outside in the sun to dry. This results in the cloth remaining damp and hosting millions of bacteria. Furthermore, the sand and rags used inside, as absorbents, are again not the best options because the degree of hygiene cannot be guaranteed in a pile of sand picked from outside.²¹ These archaic modes of dealing with menstrual flow pave way for vaginal infections which in some cases further lead to various reproductive tract infections like carcinoma of the cervix, infertility problems, miscarriage, stillbirths, etc.²² According to the researchers of TATA Memorial Centre and National Institute for Research in Reproductive health, reusable menstrual pads (homemade) harbour human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer²³.

Another problem is that it is considered a shame for a woman to discuss her menstrual cycle with anyone. In a few cases she may talk to her husband but many times even he considers himself to be too masculine to indulge in such talks. As a result of menstruation being treated as a hushed topic a lot of complications, abnormalities and discomforts which a woman faces during her menstruation cycle are not talked about by her to anyone. As a result of this, these ignored complications lead to future issues that give even more traumatizing time to the woman.²⁴ The majority of families do not even advocate the idea of letting that woman visit a doctor, thanks to the taboo attached²⁵.

Seclusion is the factor that takes the biggest toll on the mental health of women. Women are restricted from entering the kitchen, public gatherings, temples etcetera. In brief, she is ostracized from any societal inclusion for three to four days²⁶. Although many women become used to this as they grow up but for little girls who are new to this practice, this custom proves to be fatal. They become self-conscious of their existence and start feeling anxious each month when their menstrual date starts approaching. Mental health problems are yet to get due recognition in India but a problem not recognized does not mean a problem does not exist.

The next limb refers to the stagnant growth of the minds of the girls. A girl’s intellect is hardest hit by menstruation-related oppressive practices as many families stop sending their girl child to schools once they start menstruating or the girls themselves either drop out or bunk the classes during her menstruation cycle²⁷. There are various reasons associated with this too. The foremost reason is, in most of the rural areas, the schools are not menstruation friendly. There is a lack of clean washrooms and clean water²⁸. Also, many people believe that the body of a menstruating girl is most prone to be possessed by negative energy. Therefore, they prefer the girl/woman to remain inside the house or in a captivated place.

One more narrative which is associated with menstruation is the belief that it is the window for a girl to enter into womanhood. In many Indian regions, especially South India, menarche is celebrated by organizing a grand celebration during which relatives are invited and the girl is offered gifts. The ceremony marks the welcoming of a girl’s fertile age²⁹. By elevating the status of a biological process to a validation mark for womanhood, society has put a huge question mark on the identity of those women/girls who are suffering from issues like PCOD, late menarche, early menopause, etc. This attack on one’s identity is another major reason for anxiety and depression among women.

Being brought up in a society that holds all the myths associated with menstruation in high regard, most women start looking at themselves as cursed and polluted during their menstruating cycle³⁰. This leads them to grab an inferior status unconsciously in every other societal ritual. They accept the ascribed status of “being inferior to men”. Another problem ancillary to this acceptance is normalizing all the discomforts felt by them during menstruation.³¹ This happens because of various other allegations of being a “drama queen”, “attention seeker”, “sensitive” attached to her if she tries to talk about the pain and discomfort related to menstruation to anyone. This again comes from the patriarchal outlook towards menstruation which perceives the phenomenon to be a burden on women which they have to bear throughout their lives without any complaints.

Hence, the implication of the process itself on a woman’s body cannot be termed as the main reason behind the discomfort and distress at the time of menstruation. Rather, all these discomforts are aggravated and become more problematic when instead of supporting a woman dealing with the same, society puts hurdles in front of her. Pondering over the instances of trauma faced by women during their menstrual cycle, as mentioned in the chapter, it can be comfortably concluded that none of these experiences were directly related to the process of menstruation itself, rather these were the situations which can be given the name of a social construct. These social constructs are a result of the narrative of women being polluted, cursed and untouchable at the time of their menstruation cycle. These are aimed at reinforcing this narrative forcing the women to be on the receiving end always, not receiving any support but banishment.

Many volunteer-based organizations, individuals and even government are joining hands to lend voices to the mute masses.

One such incident, which was seen as an active step towards reform by some and as an act of rebel by others, was when Nikita Azad, a Patiala based young woman wrote an open letter to the chief of Sabrimala temple and initiating a campaign called #HappyToBleed on social media³². The campaign not only gathered huge support from other females but at the same time was a great manifestation of gender participation in a female related taboo in which many males also rendered their support to the campaign. This was a major step taken by the male community especially in a society that has always witnessed males being excluded or rather protected from indulging in discussing such a “polluted” topic.

Not only individuals and NGOs, but many global brands have also assumed it to be part of their corporate social responsibility to contribute their share in the forbearing of the initiative. This was manifested in an initiative called “Wind beneath her Wings” by social enterprise Dharma life in collaboration with Spain based enterprise called Believe Athletics.³³ The main objective of this initiative was to educate young rural girls about menstrual hygiene.

Another significant contribution rendered in campaigns against the exploitation of women on the ground of menstruation was by the medical field. One of the main reasons behind the evolution of the school of sociology was the urge of its thinkers to develop a scientific basis to study society and human behaviour. The reason being, science has always enjoyed a prestigious status in the mindset of people. The subject is always seen as the one which is used to provide a rationale behind a notion. That is why the intervention of medical research in the field of menstruation was yet another milestone in rationalizing the demands of these campaigns.

Research in this field can be best described to be a roller coaster ride. It started with unravelling the ill effects of Indian women using folded cloth filled with rag or dust because of a lack of sanitization of such a method. This research led to increased awareness about the introduction of disposable sanitary napkins³⁴. Although there has always been a cultural lag in Indian society concerning options used by the women during their periods, this cultural lag has not transformed into a technological lag. As time passed, the degrading effects of the disposable sanitary pads came forth, both on the health of the women and on the environment. This new finding created an additional burden on the researchers to find alternatives that gave rise to products like the menstrual cup, biodegradable pads, etcetera.³⁵

Apart from intervention in the arena of products used by women during menstruation the medical field has also started working on the effects of menstruation on women’s bodies.

One such intervention that came into news recently was by Professor John Guillebaud of London’s University College on dysmenorrhea. He concluded that the pain felt by women during menstrual cramps can be as bad as having a heart attack³⁶. The study gathered huge support from all over a world as it was an answer to all those patriarchal views which termed the pain as exaggeration, drama, and sensitivity of women.

Observing these changes, it is not difficult to conclude that whenever a society is in the state of reform regarding any particular issue it affects every limb of the society viz. societal life, intellectual life, government’s response etcetera. These campaigners are seen not begging for the share of equality, respect, and dignity for menstruating women but demanding the same with pride. There is an accepted understanding prevalent in the society which says that there is no need for any kind of strong basis to negate the irrational actions and beliefs of the majority in society towards the menstruating women rather the demand should be based on the basic principles of humanity. All these campaigns act as inspiration creating a ripple effect on many others but as it is always said, “an inspiration before its time appears to be a rebellion.”