Mabi Shrestha
I was 8/9 years old when I was introduced to the word menstruation, or Nachune bhayo
from my maternal house when my cousin got her first period. I had no idea what happens
when that nachhune bhayo happens to a girl, but I was made aware that now, she is not
allowed to visit the temple or enter the kitchen.
“As I was introduced to such impractical ideas, I constantly wondered: What if a bride got
her period on her wedding day? Since touching religious items during menstruation was
considered sinful, this confused me even more. “In the meantime, I was not aware of the
physical changes that a girl goes through after menstruation starts. However, I was fully
aware of how a woman or girl is treated as a sign of impurity forbidding her to be in the
kitchen, near the worship place.
It is not that I didn’t ask my elder about this question and they replied that women know
when they will menstruate. “Of course, they didn’t try to go into details ‘and my
8/9-year-old mind couldn’t process what they wanted to convey.
While I look back on all those things, I only see how regressive the mentality was. Instead
of preparing girls to understand and manage the natural physiological changes in their
bodies, the focus was primarily on how they should be treated during menstruation, which
fostered a sense of inferiority from a young age. What a girl should have been taught, such
as using the proper menstrual products, managing periods with ease, and focusing on
menstrual hygiene, which was largely ignored. Instead, much emphasis was placed on
illogical traditions, like isolating girls or imposing unnecessary restrictions.
Girls/Women deserve to be empowered with knowledge that promotes confidence, body
positivity, and health—rather than being made to feel inferior due to natural biological
processes. It’s time to break free from these stigmas and ensure future generations don’t
grow up feeling ashamed of something as natural as menstruation.