User:Poel3nku/Menstruation hut

Menstruation in Religion and Society

Menstruation is usually a taboo subject, but it varies how much depending on the society and religion you see it in. An example of this is in India, where even though they are a secular country, its roots in Hinduism, where it is believed that menstrual blood is impure is still a mainstay. Menstruation is also taboo in society and has been used to define women as a site for reproduction. (Nath) Menstrual taboo can still be seen in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

Judaism

The root of menstrual laws in Judaism come from Leviticus chapter 15. (Wasserfall) As seen in other religions and societies, women have a lower social status due to menstrual blood being seen as impure. Touching a menstruating women made you impure, touching what she touched caused impurity and the person had to bathe. Multiple chapters in Leviticus also explain that the punishment for sex with a women who is menstruating could be exiled from Judaism, like other religions, menstruation is still seen as heavily taboo.

Islam/Taking medicine to stop menstruation

In Islam, like other religions, women are not allowed to enter a mosque or say prayers during menstruation, and they will actually take hormones to prevent or stunt menstruation. A study published in 2016 that examined the efficiency of this technique showed that out of 400 women, 74% were able to stop menstruation. (Dandehbor) While this isn't really seen in Christianity, similar practice of taking hormones to stunt menstruation is seen in Hinduism and Judaism. where women are not allowed to enter facilities if they are menstruating.

Chhaupadi

Chhaupadi is a Hindu practice that is based on the belief that women are impure, untouchable, and unclean during menstruation and were banished to menstruation huts (Adhikari). A survey on 400 adolescent girls showed that 60% knew chhaupadi was illegal, yet 77% participated. Even among people with high levels of education, the practice was highly accepted. Nepal's supreme court banned chhaupadi in 2005 and in August of 2018, a criminal charge was added (Adhikari). Over the past 10 years, 14 women have died in chhaupadi huts in the district of accham, and the first person to be arrested under the law was Chhatra Rawat. Activists such as Radha Paudel have spoken out against chhaupadi, in support of teaching children early on that menstruation blood is not impure (Adhikari)

References

Adhikari, Rojita. “Bringing an End to Deadly ‘Menstrual Huts’ Is Proving Difficult in Nepal.” BMJ, 2020, p. m536., https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m536.

Dandehbor, W., Kazemi, M., Salehi Shahrbabaki, M. H., Ghorashi, Z., Sadrmohammad, R., Bozorg, B., & Bidaki, R. (2016). Menstrual suppression using oral contraceptives by female Hajj pilgrims. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health, 4(4), 111–114. https://doi.org/10.21859/ijtmgh-040405

Nath, R. (n.d.). Indexing. Elementary Education Online. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://ilkogretim-online.org/index.php?iid=2021-20-5.000&jid=218.

Wasserfall, R. R. (1999). Women and water: Menstruation in Jewish life and law. University Press of New England for Brandeis University Press.