It’s High Time We Stop Believing in Period-Related Myths

by Harleen Kaur Content Writing

A lot of period practices were developed for women's well-being and comfort centuries ago, at times when no proper sanitary products were available. But now the picture has completely changed. The time has come to discontinue practices which do not seem relevant today.

Unawareness on menstruation and the practice of age-old stipulations has led to many myths around women's monthly periods. We are sure you too have been exposed to these period myths. We must understand that most of these practices developed primarily to sanctify the girl's monthly natural phenomena and to keep her comfortable and guarded during the period days. But with time as adequate hygiene products are available these practices have become outdated. It’s essential that we discuss menstruation openly to create awareness around it and discontinue the practices which no longer make sense in the modern-day world.

1. Prohibition from entering religious places: Yes, girls are often told not to visit temples during their period days. Even when you have a pooja/prayer meeting at your home, you are advised not to sit in it. This taboo has to go. There was a time when women pads were not available, and girls had to use old rags to hold the menstrual flow. Simple homemade cloth pads don’t last long and can easily result in leakages, so it was best to avoid movement and stay at home during periods. It made perfect sense then. But now when sanitary napkins and tampons provide complete comfort and protection, a girl no longer needs to stay at home during periods. Women nowadays perform their household and office tasks on their period days just like on the non-period days. So there is no reason why she can’t visit a temple during menstruation. It’s a personal decision, and one should have the liberty to make a choice.

2. Restriction from entering the kitchen and cooking: Again this one is a pretty old practice, and when we look at it closely, it made perfect sense then. When women didn't have proper sanitation products, performing household chores like cleaning, washing, cooking, all the physical work would be like an agony. Even today, with all the excellent sanitary products, there are times when we wish to lay all day and relax on our period days. So with no basic sanitation, it was instead the best decision to let the woman in the family relax on period days. She needn't cook or clean during menstruation. But now things have changed, and we don't even really see this one being followed anymore.

3. Menstruating women are impure: This one is really absurd and developed simply out of unawareness. Menstruation is an entirely natural process. Nature has given the responsibility of procreation to women. It is only owing to menstruation that a woman can reproduce, for the civilization goes on. There is nothing impure about girls when on periods. Still many young girls are told not to touch pickle during periods as it turns sour if touched by a menstruating girl. Other myths include sweets and meals becoming impure, etc. Creating awareness around menstruation is essential to clear people’s minds of all these absurd notions.

4. Girls shouldn't bath or wash hair during periods: Even today, in many parts of India, families do not have a bathroom at home. If we go back to a couple of centuries ago, bathrooms as we know didn't exist. People had to use public wash areas. And warm water was out of the question. Privacy was a privilege for the few rich who could afford private washrooms. But now when we have bathrooms at home with heating systems, there is no reason to skip a bath during periods. But in the old days, when women were required to step out of the house and use common wash areas with no warm water available, it must have been tough. No wonder women preferred skipping baths during periods.

Today we have the best of feminine sanitary products from sanitary napkins, to tampons for period days and panty liners for the non-period days. With so many different kinds of sanitary napkins, tampons, and panty liner brands available in the market today -- things have become so much more comfortable for women. Women do their household chores and go to work even during the menstruation days. It’s time to outrun the tradition period myths which do not seem appropriate with changing times.