by M. P. RAJU
June 21, 2013: A holy man blesses devotees at the Kamakhya temple during the Ambubachi festival in Guwahati. The festival marks the menstruation period of the goddess during which the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine remains closed PHOTO/Ritu Raj Konwar
The current controversy about the constitutionality of banning women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala and other similar cases have raised questions about the sanctity of some of the prevailing anti-women religious practices and usages. This also invites us to revisit the age-old tension between universal values and culture-specific relative values.
It is claimed that the prohibition of women from entering temples is practised in other temples too and is attributable to the alleged impurity of women during menstruation. There are also instances where women are considered “ritually unclean” while menstruating and are not allowed to visit temples or pray to deities. It is reported that some women themselves share this view of ritual impurity. We may even find educated women who consider themselves impure during their menstruation cycle. In a survey conducted by the scholar Aru Bhartiya in 2013, 92 per cent of the women said that they did not think they were impure during their menstruation cycle and that they should not feel guilty about praying.
Many authors have identified mythological stories intended to perpetuate the ideas of impurity of women and untouchability against them. One such story is that women got rajaswala dosha (menstruation) when Indra murdered Vritra, the three-headed son of Tvashtri. This involved the killing of a Brahmin by Indra, and thus he was guilty of brahmahatya dosha. Indra got rid of this dosha by distributing it among the land, water, trees and women. From that day onwards, women started menstruating every 28-30 days. Thus, menstruation was considered a dosha. There are other similar stories and beliefs, such as the tamasic (dark or inappropriate) nature of menstruation. Thus, touching a menstruating woman is considered a tamasic act. During menstruation some women are not allowed to enter the kitchen and temples, sleep during the day, bathe, wear flowers, have sex, touch other men or women, talk loudly or touch pickle. According to some beliefs, pickle touched by a menstruating woman rots away. And in some regions, menstruating girls are not allowed to touch the basil (tulsi) plant as basil is considered holy.
All historical evidence, including available literary works, shows that on one hand women were described as goddesses, and on the other, they were oppressed, discriminated against, excluded and even treated as untouchables. There have been anti-women provisions in the law, and instances of great injustice to women abound in Indian history.
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