Those 3 days


Period. That monthly monster which doesn't hold any respect for fundamentals of living such as gender equality or my big meetings! (pun intended)

I guess we are way past the taboo both at workplace and at home. If my husband/guy friends ask me why am I not joining them for a hike or when my dad questions why am I working from home, I throw a very casual "I'm on my period" answer. They don't frown anymore. Infact they understand. Like a normal male should. Am I happy about this change? Ofcourse I am. But there is one other change I am not quite happy about. The tradition of isolating the girl/woman on period! Shocked? Don't be. There is a reason why a millennial thinks so.

Everytime I come across an article or a video where they point out Indian social evils, I have no clue why they pick on 'keeping the female away for those 3 days'. Seriously, what exactly is wrong in helping a woman get rid of her duties while she is in pain? Yes, we (atleast I and a lot of other women) are in pain. A pain that handicaps us from living the routine life. A pain that doesn't let us stand for 10 minutes straight. A pain that comes along with us showering in bloodbath for days together down there!!

I for one want kids at some point of my life and convince myself that all this pain is worth it as it leads me to experience the beauty of motherhood someday. But what about those women who don't want kids? It's not an option though you want to pro-create or not! So how can the rest of the world help us when we are going through this 'amazing gift of nature' on a monthly basis? I hope you are thinking what I am thinking.. REST. Coz, that's exactly what the Indian culture is trying to give the women too. A 3 day rest, free from all responsibilities. So what exactly is wrong with that tradition again?

Yes, you have a separate room to sleep, because you might wake up multiple times in the night to change. The same reason applies for a separate bathroom too. Separate utensils, separate bed and separate clothes - everything for the sake of your and your family's hygiene. I don't get any more  offended by such a tradition than being relieved. Yes, there are people who took it too far but isn't it the mistake of those people? Why blame the culture?

I guess all I am trying to say is not all ancient traditions are full of crap. Some actually make sense. Instead of trashing our culture maybe its time we take a good look at it and be grateful for our ancestors for trying to incorporate such traditions to make our life easy. 

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