RED- The color of shame?
As a child i loved red balloons,red cherries, red ketchup with hot samosas. Red was the color of my mothers bindi, her nail paint, her lipstick. Red was the cross in the doctor’s car. It was the color of my mehendi, my frock, the roses and my candy bar. For me red depicted beauty, love, passion and dreams.
And then i grew up and something weird happened. Suddenly the goodness of red escaped from a crack, and it became the colour of shame and pain. I was around 11 when i saw red river flowing between my thighs. It frightened and confused me. Initially I thought I had blood cancer. I didn’t know this blood will become my lifelong adversary, that red would become my nightmare !
My life became full of DON’Ts. Don’t walk like that, don’t talk to boys, don’t dress like that, don’t think like that, don’t go out late, don’t go to kitchen . Ssshhh.!! I needed peace.
And the worst part was “Stop! Don’t pray!” Five long days, were my days of impurity, I live a life of an untouchable. I have to live like i did not exist. Five long days that i had to bear on my own- Uncertain, uncomfortable, ignored. Five long days when even God wiped me of his list.
Can u imagine the horror of an eleven year old girl who suddenly discovers that she has become a woman? And there is nothing beautiful about it. She feels tainted, her soul feels contaminated. Moreover she feels ashamed!!. And i was not the only one, there were and there are many like me who step into puberty not knowing that their bodies are the most beautiful vessels. Vessels with the power to reproduce humanity.
Surrounded by myth, burdened by taboo, they consider themselves a curse. They use all the means to remove all traces of shame. They drop out of school, they withdraw into themselves, wondering why their body limits them. For humanity to live women bleed. They have a thousand questions that they are too scared to voice, and ashamed to think off. But children like me should be told that womanhood in not a witch, and puberty means life! Menstruation is not a disease. With utmost care and understanding this sensitive topic should be discussed with teenage girls. Let them know that she has magic within her and its wonderful.
The red blood that comes from within her doesn’t make her dirty or impure and that her red blood will one day help another heart beat !
Spread awareness about menstruation and shatter the myth around it !
A wonderful video by www.mypromovideos.com
The beauty of RED