Author: Unnati Parekh Gujarat Law Society, Ahmedabad
Ironical is the fact that a democracy like India, having a diverse population faces the most shameful ball game of period shaming. Constitution, which is embedded with a plethora of fundamental rights, always fails to prevent the society from going beyond their rights and criticizing female existence. Rape, dowry death, stalking, domestic violence and other crimes are prevented till a certain level but another mentality of the society is period shaming.
Why? Why can’t a girl/woman talk about her periods or menses? You can comment on her features, clothes but when it it is about understanding a natural process, everyone takes a backseat as if it is a crime. Is it such a shameful process that girls are not allowed to disclose anything about her periods?
The reason is patriarchy: And not to forget, is the fact that this patriarchal society is the result of bleeding women who have fallen in the turmoil of period shaming since ages. It is a request to all the men to develop a sense of wisdom and rather create a positive environment to support women and stop creating havoc by condemning them from such discussions. I, therefore, rebuke the fake manifestation of supporting women whenever there are people who do not intuit periods as a natural human procedure and assess it in the theory of close door despicable talks. In our patriarchal society, we have been aiming to safeguard women rights and are striving to provide them equivalent status as men but many of them conjecture periods as an immoral procedure in a female body, and the reason is the nefarious mentality of the society and ironically we discuss about equality and economic crisis. What is to be changed is the mortifying thought process of all in an Era which is ignominious towards menstruation.