Menstrual Taboo: Confined To Room, Not Allowed To Bathe During Periods, Bhopal Woman Ends Her Marriage

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A young woman has decided to end her marriage, instead of following taboos related to menstruation. She was confined to a room during her periods and was not even allowed to take a bath for a week. When she found that even her husband was not ready to oppose the superstitious beliefs and unacceptable demands of his mother, she decided to part ways.

The couple divorced by mutual consent. The couple is in their early thirties. Their arranged marriage is about two-year-old. The man is a priest and lives with his parents in a town near Bhopal. Within a short time after shifting to her marital home, the woman realised that she had married into the orthodox family. Her in-laws believed in outdated customs and traditions.

During her first period at her in-law’s place, she was asked not to enter the kitchen or the puja room for seven days. She was also asked not to go out of the home and remain confined to a room. She, however, was shocked when the directive issued by her mother-in-law said that she should not take a bath for a week. When she complained to her husband, he refused to intervene and insisted that she would have to follow the norms.

To make matters worse for her, her in-laws also claimed that whenever she goes out, street dogs bark at her and chase her, which indicates that she was possessed by evil spirits. Unable to put up with this nonsense, the woman left her marital home four months after marriage and moved to her parents’ place.

She told her husband that it would not be possible for her to live with his very conservative parents. They filed for divorce with mutual consent under Section 13(B) of the Hindu Marriage Act at the Bhopal District Family Court, which issued an order, allowing their application.

Sapna Prajapati, the counsellor handling the case, told the Free Press that it is a bitter fact that people with such outdated beliefs still exist in this world. “The woman said that she was only allowed to visit the toilet during her periods. She felt so smelly and dirty,” the counsellor said.