Menstruation in India: Where does the thin line between repulsion and veneration lie?
Odisha’s Raja festival, hailing the onset of monsoon, is a celebration of menstruation and womanhood. Can it really change mindsets and break taboos, or is the revelry just skin-deep?
Banaste dakila gaja,
barasake thare asichi raja.
Asichi raja lo,
gheni nua saja baja…
(The elephants have announced the onset of monsoon from the forest, Raja festival is here again. Come, friend, let’s get decked up to celebrate Raja.)
This Odia folk song encompasses the fervour of the festival of Raja, a celebration of the menstruation of Mother Earth. The word ‘Raja’ comes from ‘rajaswala’, meaning “a menstruating woman”.
As a largely agrarian society, Odisha celebrates Raja at the onset of monsoons in June each year. The celebration, especially in rural Odisha, sees agriculture and construction activities grinding to a halt for three days. Ploughs are put to rest, and cattle are left free to graze.
Odia people believe that Mother Earth undergoes the natural process of menses for three days, much like any other woman on her period. Any work that involves digging the soil is stopped as it is believed it would hurt the Earth while she is resting.
As a young girl, I was always excited to celebrate the festival with my friend—having no idea what menstruation entailed for women. We would look forward to wearing new clothes on all three days—with tikkas on our foreheads, dozens of bangles to match, and hands adorned with henna and feet with alta (a vermillion liquid dye).
Our mothers would prepare elaborate seasonal meals on all three days—including a Raja staple delicacy, a special burnt rice cake with coconut called Poda Pitha, followed by a sweet Raja paan to end the meal.
In rural Odisha, while women prepare elaborate meals and enjoy playing games, men take a break from their usual farm work and gather on verandas to play Ganjapa, a local version of playing cards.
The highlight of the festival is the flower-adorned swings for the women and girls to play on, so their feet don’t touch the ground as it would hurt the Earth.
While Raja is specific to Odisha, one can find similar festivities in different regions of India. The annual Ambubachi Mela at the famous Kamakhya Temple in Assam is well-known for celebrating and worshipping a menstruating woman—the Goddess Kamakhya—who also undergoes menses for three days.
However, do these annual celebrations around menstruation truly reflect the ground reality of women’s plight during periods? The answer is, sadly, a resounding NO.
Menstrual health and hygiene are a basic need for every woman and adolescent girl, but as a society, we have failed to uphold their dignity—each month, year after year—treating them like second-class citizens in their own homes.
One can only ponder the fairness of deifying menstruation one day while demonising it the next.
Till I attained puberty, I remained blissfully unaware. I had no idea that women had to undergo such a difficult and painful period in their lives month after month. Menstruation was never discussed openly in my family, and with no previous knowledge, my naivety—brought on by lack of awareness—led me to believe I had blood cancer!
According to a 2022 report by the PHFI-IIPHB in collaboration with UNICEF and the Odisha government, almost 46.9% of the surveyed population did not know about menstruation before menarche. The percentage was higher in rural areas compared to urban regions.
About 67.2% of the girls and women got scared when they experienced their first periods, 19.5% were embarrassed, 3.4% were guilty, and 9.9% had no reaction at all.
Clearly, the knowledge of menstruation has not permeated deep into the grassroots levels of Indian society. In fact, as the report suggests, the ground reality in rural areas is as dire as in urban dwellings.
About three-fourths of the participants (74.3%) knew that menstruation is a physiological process, while 14.4% were unaware of its aetiology. About 6.7% said menstruation is a curse of God, only a minuscule percentage believed it is a blessing, while 3.9% said it is caused by a disease.
This raises the question of where they are getting their information. The report points out that the primary source for most participants was their mothers (74.3%), followed by other family members (8.9%), friends (7.8%), sisters (4.7%), and teachers (4.2%).
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It also makes one wonder why menstruation is still considered taboo—when it is as natural for a woman as any other bodily function. The answer lies within the patriarchal society, which does not see women as their equals but as people to be controlled.
Women on their periods are asked to sleep alone in a different room, and separate utensils are set aside for their use. In some communities, they are forced to wash their clothes as they suffer in pain from cramps, nausea, and other related period symptoms. They are not allowed entry into kitchens, touch plants, or worship.
The report highlights that 18.2% of the surveyed population felt that even now, menstruation is considered a secret in our society, mentioning shyness (73.2%), menstruation being a personal concept (17.9%), stigma (7.1%), and religion (1.7%) as the reasons behind it.
This deep-rooted stigma has left many young women feeling isolated in their homes and society.
Another well-known problem is the shortage of clean toilets in rural areas and schools that have pushed many female students to drop out of school. Or lack of access to proper sanitary napkins and having to resort to using rags or cloth.
According to a 2018 study by the International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, absenteeism due to menstruation was reported to be around 28.33%, even though the girls were aware that menstruation is a normal physiological process.
The UNICEF report also highlights that due to cultural beliefs, these clothes are not washed properly and are frequently dried away from sunlight to avoid being seen by others. Such unhygienic practices frequently result in vaginitis, pelvic infections, and urinary tract infections.
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About half (50.6%) of the participants stated difficulties in accessing sanitary products, while 37% said they could not afford sanitary products. About 61% of respondents used only sanitary pads at home as a menstrual absorbent material, while 31.6% used only cloth, and 7.2% used both cloth and sanitary pads.
After seeing this stark disparity, I wonder if it is even worth celebrating Raja. Sure, it has some perks, but the very foundation of the festival—celebrating menstruation—is not promulgated the way it should be.
Raja, I believe, should be a festival to spread awareness on the ground about this natural process that is a part of the lived experiences of every woman. It should break the taboo surrounding menstruation among the population. It should be a celebration of the divine feminine that Goddess Kamakhya embodies. As a social festival, it should have made girls and women empowered in their stead.
Alas, even in the 21st century, it has been restricted to a celebration surrounding food and merriment—with little to no scope to actually educate the masses.
Today, as I fondly remember the memories of this festival from my childhood, the beautiful swings, my alta-stained feet, and the never-ending food fiesta, I wish I had known better. I wish society had empowered me and not cast me aside as a second-class citizen in my own home every month, year after year, like many women like me.
It is time to do better, and spread the true message of Raja far and beyond; to bring the same dignity and reverence to the living, breathing women of the world as we do to the divine, as we go through our days of rest.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)