How women ended up bleeding in the cattle-shed.

I recently happened to read an interesting blog post (DO READ IT), by a friend, on the origin of Chaupadi pratha in Nepal. He argued how some "smart-minds" tried to rule over the rest of the "not-so-smart" people in our society by creating a set of rules which ultimately had women at the receiving end. His arguments were very reasonable and convincing. However, I didn't want to entirely blame it on the "smart-minds" that created these rules. In fact, deep down I believe that the followers, the "not-so-smart " lot, were too dumb to come out of their dumbness, their blind faiths and primitive minds. In this post, I have tried to explore the science behind this practice. 

Chaupadi pratha is a system in which a woman is kept away from the house (kitchen- in case of urban societies probably due to limited space/money to construct a separate house); and is instead forced to stay inside a cattle shed during her menstruation. During this period, she is barred from entering the house/kitchen and is rendered untouchable. She is forbidden to go out and mingle with the rest of the world until she bathes on the 4th/5th day of her period to purify herself and become touchable again. 

This system is widely practiced in the mid and far western region of the country. It would be wrong to say that it exists only in these parts of the country. It is practiced across the nation, predominantly in Hindu societies. However, the term Chaupadi is a local term in Achham district of western Nepal, where Chhau means menstruation and padi means woman. In the rest of the country, instead of chaupadi, it is simply referred to as nachhuney hunu , literally meaning "to-be-untouchable". 

I will now move on to my speculation on how the pratha might have originated. There is no denying that religion has always been “interpreted” by “wise men” in favor of men and thereby depriving women of equal rights.The problem is that of interpretation and not religion itself. I doubt if the “wise men” who wrote the religious scriptures, supposed to contain the rules of life, intended to actually debase women kind. There must have been some logic and reasoning to whatever is/was written. People fail to see this side and stupidly follow religion out of fear.

In my opinion (just an opinion), in the days of yore, sanitary conditions might have been poor owing to the fact that majority of the population were farmers that tilled soils. Besides, its likely that health services was not in reach of everyone. So to prevent any unwarranted health conditions/epidemics, women were segregated; so much that they could not use public water sources or even show up at any public sphere. No bad intentions so far…simply a general health concern.

The positive spin to this is probably that women were relieved of their heavily burdened household chores. This isolation gave them a break, a time for them to renew their energy both physically and mentally (sometimes, a conversation with oneself can be very fulfilling, mentally). But today, people who criticize this system choose to ignore this side of the story. 

To make sure that these rules were followed, religion was brought into the picture. Which man would not fear God? People were duped into believing that it is the will of God and henceforth should be followed blindly which they did; forgetting the sole purpose of the rule.

The writers who wrote the "holy books" died. But their rules survived, as blind faiths; and still exist, ironically. The followers (the dumb lot) have survived too, unfortunately. They still follow the same set of rules which might have been appropriate for that age; but no more, because things have changed today. Sanitary conditions and health services are improving (at least in urban areas). But people’s atttitude and misbeliefs remain the same. Status-quo?

People refuse to believe that it was NOT god’s will. If educated people cannot rationalize their faiths, what good is their education? Shouldn’t we call them literate but uneducated?

In rural areas, we cannot expect them to change overnight. We should NOT.They lack access to even the basic health needs. Sanitation issue is perpetual. The state has been supine if not complicit in this matter.The least we can do is create awareness. Getting women into the family kitchen, during periods, is a far-cry. But we can certainly, help to create hygienic conditions for them; at least get them out of the cattle-sheds. The state should work towards ensuring their rights to a healthy living not only by investing in health infrastructures but also by dispelling such misbeliefs deep-rooted in our society.

Following the same logic, I have also tried to reason why dalits have become an untouchable group in our society. The kind of occupation that dalit people were engaged in, mostly involved unhygienic conditions. Say, a blacksmith or a sweeper to name a few. So for fear of widespread health crisis, again the same writers of the holy books, might have severed them from the rest of the society. Again, just an opinion. 

Chaupadi pratha is merely one of the many practices of our society that reflects how blindly and stupidly we are following our faiths without once attempting to see the science behind it. Do we need another set of "smart people" to bring about radical changes in the "rule book" to match to the needs of modern day society? I say we need a change in the "rule book" and NOT "our attitude" because we are all dumb people. We cannot think for ourselves. Our attitude will change automaGically with a change in the great "rule book".

This new year, I pray to God (who has a doubtful existence, of course) to send us another set of "smart-minds" to bring about some major and much-needed reforms in our holy books. Only then, a woman will no longer bleed alone, isolated from the world outside.