I grew up in a joint family and as is with every household, we too had some rituals that I had to follow no matter what. One of them was keeping out of the kitchen during my monthly periods. This also included not touching pickle jars and even common utensils. At the time, I found it exasperating because not only was this practice extremely regressive but none of the people I knew followed this. However, as years rolled by and we settled into nuclear families, the ritual faded and I completely forgot about it, up until now.
While scrolling through Reddit, I stumbled upon a video of an Instagram blogger. In the video, Rupal Mitual Shah, gave a glimpse of her family lunch after shifting to her new home. But it wasn’t the gorgeous house that caught everyone’s attention. It was the fact that one of her cousin sisters was eating her lunch on the floor while the others sat comfortably on the brand-new dining table. Here’s what the caption read, “P.S yess.. we strictly avoid person to person contact during those days of month 🩸🩸.. and I and Janvi love to cling to it and we respect that desicion taken by my family since ages , and till today we observe it very strictly ..!”
This to me was insanely shocking and problematic! And of course, it didn’t sit well with the netizens either:
While I do respect everyone’s personal choices and traditions, Rupal’s recent post contradicts the progress women have tirelessly fought for. Embracing family traditions and rituals is admirable, and I’m all in favour of it. But Rupal’s support for this ancient and, frankly, regressive period taboo is enraging and disheartening. As a social media influencer, she wields the power to influence people and bring positive change in our society. By championing regressive beliefs, she appears to be leading the community backwards.
In her post, she mentions clinging to a decision taken by her family years ago. However, as an educated, independent woman, she possesses the power to challenge and evolve this tradition. By endorsing such regressive beliefs, she’s normalising these ideas for her followers. This not only affects her but also those who look up to her content.
I hope she understands that not every belief and ritual is meant to be celebrated. Especially if it goes against all the positive changes that we, as women, have done all these years.
Featured Image: Instagram
