A group of women have started the campaign #ReadyToWait to say that they back the ban on women of reproductive age from the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, one of the most revered sites of worship among Hindus. They support the ban as according to them they should not interfere with the traditions and customs of devotees. The customs and traditions bar a person who had no control over the match probability of XX chromosome, thereby making them a woman, to enter the temple. This makes me question what I have learnt as a Biotechnology student. I am almost sure that its possible for a person (yet to become life) to chuck out the second X chromosome, fetch a Y chromosome and make it the “Best” match and that’s why anybody who does not do this commits a heinous crime to become a woman and is banned from doing any worship during the days they bleed, as per the traditions and culture.
The patriarchal society does not allow any space to women to develop any relationship with the God and makes us believe God to be so anti woman. On one hand we consider God to be the supreme power that creates life and takes care of them and on the other hand we say that God may get angry and offended if a bleeding woman offers prayers to him. Isn’t it such a hypocritical thought? We keep referring to women as goddesses, carriers of life but we never let her become a human being with rights equal to men, we never let her develop her bond with God because this bond is broken every month. These traditions are so devoid of rationality (at least in this modern era). This makes me question the existence of God because all I know is that God cannot be so irrational.
Earlier when there were no sanitary pads and proper hygienic atmosphere, women couldn’t walk and climb all that distance to the temple and hence they used to stay at home and not join their family to offer prayers. This was the time when safety and sanitation used to be an issue. Things have changed, we have better ways of managing our periods and the pain associated. We have progressed technically, however that doesn’t refrain us from considering menstruating women impure enough to have a conversation with God and pray. Do we even realize that menstruation helps us create life, it’s one of the most natural functions of a woman’s body? Shouldn’t we just stop whispering out about we menstruating and let the world know that had it been not the periods, there would not had been any men in this world! While I still continue with my quest of understanding the rationale behind God disapproving our menstrual cycles, I would request you all reading my blog and having an opinion same as mine, to try and make menstruation a proud feeling for us and not a topic to be whispered and embarrassed.
