Worshiping while Menstruating - What's wrong with it?

Some cultures and traditions are very old, for thousands of years certain traditions have been in practice and people still follow them with a lot of devotion and belief. I am very proud of India's rich culture and traditions. There are many good things that one can learn from these traditions, but at the same time, there are certain rituals or traditions that need to change or should be abandoned altogether. Customs and rituals need to change with time. There is one custom where women and girls are not allowed to enter temples or take part in religious functions while menstruating (or during periods, the term is mostly used for menstruation). This tradition is still practiced in many families and many women also believe that they must follow this ritual. They feel guilty if they don't do this, such is the effect of this tradition. Every religion has put some restrictions on women while they are menstruating, so this is not related to any particular religion. Some forbid them from entering temples or mosques, some restrict their physical and social behavior, and different religions have different types of restrictions. There are many justifications for why these restrictions were introduced. Some of these explanations sound logical and must have been relevant to that era, but the strange part is even after so much progress in the area of sanitation and personal hygiene many people still practice these things. 

In Hinduism, menstruating women are not supposed to enter the temple because they are believed to be ‘unclean.’ Menstruating women are also supposed to keep away from sacred objects even in their own homes. According to the Old Testament of the Bible, menstruating women are unclean for seven days (Leviticus 12). A woman had to 'purify' herself after she finished menstruating until then anything that she touched would be considered as unclean (as would anyone who had touched her, or had been touched by a person who had been in contact with her). I have read somewhere that Buddhism has no menstrual restrictions at all (menstruation is just seen as a natural bodily process). However, some Buddhist temples do restrict menstruating women from entering them (probably because of the influence of Hinduism).

I spent most of my life in a Hindu neighborhood in India, women were not allowed to go to the temple, do poojas, or even offer prasad (offerings from temples). They were not allowed in churches or mosques during those days. In some very orthodox families, women were forbidden from even entering the kitchen during menstruating days. She had to depend on somebody even to take drinking water from a vessel as it was believed that her touch might pollute that water. The belief was so strong and rigid that it was beyond any rational or logic. Technically she was ostracized or quarantined. The effect of these beliefs is so strong that if any woman dares to challenge them every attempt is made to make her feel like a sinner. There are so many explanations and justifications for why this practice was started; some say it was because of hygiene (remember those were pre-sanitary pad days), and some say that in those days women's basic lifestyle required more physical effort and put more strain than today and this practice gave them much required physical rest. These explanations indeed sound very practical and valid for 'those days.' Maybe it was required back then, but why are we still practicing them even today? Today with sanitary napkins and other options very sophisticated and reliable methods of sanitation are available. Women are empowered and capable of making decisions about their own health and sanitation. So, why these things are still in practice?

The hold of these beliefs is so strong that many women still believe that there is something wrong with them during those days. They feel they are really polluted or dirty during that period and should not take part in any of these activities. I have seen my mother, and my wife practicing these things for years, and no matter how much I question them, how much I explain they are just too scared to break this religious dogma or superstition. Now after my continuous questioning at least they accept that this practice is wrong and should be discontinued but they are scared to do it. I already wrote one post related to the pure biological nature of pregnancy, similarly, menstruation is a purely biological process, there is nothing dirty, or sinful in it. Menstruation has nothing to do with any god or religion, it's just simple biology. 

Many people who believe in the supremacy of God don't even think about how a God can become unclean or polluted by the touch of a menstruating woman. Does this mean that a woman in her period has more power than their all-powerful God? Why any god should fear a menstruating woman? Womanhood is a gift from nature to females and they should cherish it and feel proud of it. Shame or guilt should not be associated with any gender's biological function. This practice of seclusion of women in this way due to some biological processes associated with their gender should stop. It is the duty of all of us together to put a full stop to such discriminatory practices. Let's show some courage to eradicate this practice, let's confront these things wherever we see them, and let's start this from our own homes. 

I understand that many times it's not fair to judge past societies with current social values and knowledge. Here, I am not trying to do this, rather I am questioning the beliefs of present societies that are based on past social or religious values. Because of these types of beliefs and superstitions, women already suffered enough. They are treated as inferiors or like a burden in many societies from the moment the fetus is known to be a female. I think the time has come to get rid of all these types of customs and rituals. We have come very far from those medieval times. As far as I am concerned I don't care what any religion or scripture says about this topic, if I see this type of prejudice and discrimination I voice my opinion strongly against it, and I question it. I know it may not change anything immediately but I do it anyway. Unless women themselves start questioning these types of beliefs we can't bring that change. I hope that more and more women will start doing it. I am sure we all can create a prejudice-free environment with our efforts and I am willing to do my bit. Are you with me?

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

Links for further reading:
1. Culture and menstruation
2. When Religion made Women outcasts…
3. Millions of Indian women need URGENT support for safe menstruation. Kudos to Anshu Gupta for raising this issue.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]