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I WISH TO ACT
What the Women in My Family Were Never Allowed to Say
Taboo made public
In most Indian villages, silence has long been a rule. Not the silence of peace obviously, but the silence of truths that could never be spoken.
Menopause was brushed aside as “mood swings.” Divorce was labeled “failure.” Widowhood was turned into lifelong punishment. These mangled histories shaped generations of women, without anyone realizing the damage done.
But change is here, and taboos are being talked about, challenged, and overturned.
Menopause: the invisible struggle
In my own village, menopause was not even a word people used. Women were told to “adjust,” to suffer quietly through hot flashes, depression, or bone pain. Families labeled them as “short-tempered” or “lazy.”
Yet my family chose a different path. We asked questions, we spoke openly, and we trusted science, even when the village mocked us for being “too modern.”
At that time, people called education of girls a waste of money. They said we were chasing something useless, that nothing good would come of it. For years, the comments and ridicule never stopped. What hurt the most was that this group included my own cousins, uncles, and…
