How does a woman become ‘impure’ during her menstrual cycle? Would anybody spare me if I insult a woman by asking her to stay away from me or from the workplace just because she is menstruating? I would probably sued or, more likely, beaten within inches of my life by the family or friends of the woman!

Then why do millions of women bear the same insult when it is meted out by religion and its edicts? Even today, Hindu women in most rural areas are made to sit out of their homes during the entire four day period of her menstruation. What’s even astonishing is women in urban areas are meted out similar insult by other women and men. Though the scenario is not as worse as that in rural and semi-urban places, the discrimination is nevertheless there. Women are not allowed to enter places of worship, they cannot perform pujas, they should not touch others or articles until they have had their bath, they cannot enter the kitchen or cook before their bath. If menstruating women touch any other people or are touched by other people, those people become ‘impure’ too and they are meted out similar insult and discrimination.

Islam religion holds very similar laws and menstruating women are prohibited from entering mosques, they cannot read Quran, and so on. There is a similar law in Christianity that considers menstruating women as ritually unclean.

Are the gods disgusted by the blood women shed during menstruation? Would Vishnu, Shiva, Christian God or Allah cringeand curse women when they perform puja during their menstruation?

I have personally seen women taking pills to postpone their menstruation period so they could perform certain rituals and pujas! Does anybody know the side effects of taking such pills could even be infertility? Or do these women not consider the drastic hormonal imbalance triggered by these dangerous pills? And yet many mothers and mothers-in-law encourage their daughters and daugthers-in-law to pop these pills so they would not miss out on rituals at home and darshans in pilgrim centers.

What kind of sick fucks are those priests and fatwa givers who decide what proper conduct is for women in religion? Nobody has a right to impose upon another individual and more so in matters as personal as belief and disbelief in god. And yet even in the 21^st century we have superstitions that degrade women in the name of religion and nobody seems to be even bothered by it.

This is one of the reasons why I personally hate religion and would be more than glad to erase religion out of this world for good. And by religion I do not mean the belief in god. Belief or disbelief in god is a very personal issue for every human being; whereas religion is the systematic sacrilege of human values in the name of peace, prosperity and morality.

Can any of you point out the morality in the issue of menstruating women? Why cannot a woman enter a place of worship during her menstrual cycle?

Why do you women bear the issue without any protest? Do you believe you really become ‘impure and untouchable’ during your menstrual cycles and that gods would be disgusted if you go near them during menstruation?