I am bewildered by the intensity of reactions that media and political
agendas can extract from a person. Lately it is because of the Sabarimala temple
issue. Our Supreme Court has given a verdict on “unrestricted entry for all
regardless of the gender or age or reproductive healthâ€, citing Women’s rights
and gender discrimination against Hindu women, feeling noble to have attempted
to establish equality among Hindu men and women.
Legally, the doors of the Ayyappan temple have been thrown open for women but
that is the least of their problems. Devotees, believing their culture and
tradition is being interfered with are widely protesting all over the state of
Kerala and aren’t allowing the women to enter. The women meanwhile, all over the
country, believing it to be the hour of equality, have suddenly woken up from
their slumber. These females, Hindu, Non-Hindu alike are partaking to enter the
temple wherein strangely the question of being an actual devotee is irrelevant.
There is a mass hysteria spread and every menstruating woman suddenly believes
that the only way to prove their purity during “those five days†is to enter the
Ayyappan Shrine.
Unfortunately, this is due to deep routed insecurities and a reaction to
centuries of prejudice coupled by a lack of information and going with the
public hearsay.
Looking at where the whole menstruation issue began, we need to understand that
during the olden times, there were no proper sanitation facilities or ways to
appropriately handle the bleeding and that led to unhygienic conditions. Neither
were there any medications, sufficient to help control the physical discomfort.
So naturally, the women were advised to take rest, to not work in the kitchen or
go out to the temple as the contamination might lead to diseases. As the
traditions pass down from generation to generation they are often modified to
fit in with the prevailing times and norms, often by the ones that hold power;
hence most of the traditions in our country have a patriarchal trace to them.
This as a result has led to a situation where in such norms, which were devised
for the benefit of the women, have now become a reason for bias, to the extent
that the females are termed as impure. There is absolutely no reason to follow
these in today’s times and yet somehow the practice has been continued and the
women, even the educated ones are often too embarrassed to question it and
believe their own selves to be tainted. It is perfectly alright to travel in the
crowded metros, attend a seasonal sale on a weekend or even go out for a
Saturday night at the “it†place, but somehow going to a temple will contaminate
the area.
The word “menstruation†is a taboo which is spoken about in hushed whispers
behind closed doors among females. Men shy away from the topic and it is
considered embarrassing and uncomfortable so much so as to even mention it in
front of the male gender. This attitude of “something to hide†has lead to many
superstitions about a natural bodily function which have no scientific base. The
lack of open discussion has made it difficult to separate fact from fiction and
therefore the women just take it as it is with a submissive attitude.
All these centuries old pent up emotions exist and here comes the perfect gift
wrapped platform to take it out on. The apex judicial power recognizing this
inequality and removing the age old irrelevant patriarchal misogynist rule
sounds marvellous; but did we even stop to ponder upon the sudden political
empathy in the menstrual rights of a woman, who before today had turned a blind
eye to the phenomenon, treating it as non-existent? Did we bother to check our
facts and perhaps read up on the deity we so wish to worship?
Hinduism is a religion of many deities and it is fascinating that they each have
their own background, coming together under the big umbrella of the religion
harmoniously. The tale behind Sabarimala temple is that Lord Ayyappan was
worshipped as a ‘Naishtika Bramhachari’ or eternally celibate. The legend has it
that Lord Ayyappan released a beautiful woman from her demon curse and the
woman, Malikapurathamma wanted to marry him. Lord Ayyapan refused as he wanted
to answer to the prayer of his devotees and so out of respect for
Malikapurathamma, he does not receive any menstruating women so as to remain
eternally celibate.
The Sabarimala issue does not relate to the fact that women are impure so they
can’t enter the temple, as the precedence doesn’t say anything about those
particular five days. The simple fact in this case is that the women in that
particular age group are capable of creating life, and the deity being celibate,
chose not to entertain such devotees. Some might say that this practice was
fabricated by a patriarchal society, and perhaps it was. But that’s a belief and
so is even the existence of Lord Ayyappan. He is stemmed out of convictions and
his background and his nature are all such so how can we conclude that one must
respect the belief of Lord Ayyappan’s existence and shun out all the other
faiths with regard to his creation.
I am against the patriarchal society, and eschew all possible superstitions,
encouraging people to do the same. It is true that there exist misconceptions
regarding the purity of women during their menstruation period and they must
take a firm stand against all these beliefs which are detrimental to them but
this issue isn’t the place to voice those views. We must realise that there is a
logical reason behind this particular belief, one that must be respected for the
sake of the devotees which are close to two crore in number.
Although fraught with misconceptions, the Sabarimala issue has at least led
Indians to openly use the secret taboo word and has also ignited this attitude
of “my period is natural†within the women, making them question their rigid
beliefs. The society must continue with this awakening but needs to attribute
the protest against beliefs of impurity and other forms of discrimination, not
violating a particular deity’s beliefs.
Though legally, the women have no
restrictions, it is the deep routed beliefs and norms coupled by the actual
conviction of being impure that do not allow them to enter any temple during
their menstruation period. These embedded beliefs are to be broken free from,
preventing them from being passed down to the next generation and thereby
abolishing the prejudice.
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