THE HISTORY OF MENSTRUATION
Menstruation is a universal experience regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and era. Although a lot of our history remains undocumented, unexplored or lost in translation; research has gained momentum in the fields of gender studies and cultural histories of civilizations. The accounts of menstruation in the era before the birth of Christ are documented by male surgeons, therefore they do not represent in truth the voices of menstruating women during that period nor do they mention non-binary menstruators. Hippocrates, a 5th century BCE Greek thinker believed that a woman’s flesh was like sponge, absorbing more nutrient than the male flesh. If it did not come out of female body, blood would rot and women would fall severely ill hence women shed the impurities through their blood. Aristotle, on the other hand, proposed that menstruation was similar to the flow of blood from a sacrificial animal. The Greek society was a flourishing, patriarchal society with booming trade and commerce. Amidst war, bloodshed and annexations ancient Greece was also home to the greatest philosophers and architects. Among the educated and royal, few had regard for scientific temperament and the peasantry included mostly of farmers, masons, soldiers and sailors and they worshipped the elements of nature. Their lives were most affected by natural calamities and yet they had little idea as to how these events occurred so they prayed to their deities to be saved from the wrath of nature. Women during this era, had no access to formal education. The nobility educated their women at home in practical subjects of cooking, sewing and housekeeping. Women of lesser fortune were married off at an early age, they became maids or nurses and if worse came to worst, they were sold into slavery by their families. To say that a common woman had no voice in courts, palaces, streets or even their own household would be an understatement.
Of accounts that remain of the Sumerian, Byzantine, Greek, Roman or Mayan Empires, Greek mythology celebrates menstruation as a rite of passage of women into the age of marriage. The Greek Goddess of the Moon, Artemis, a deity worshiped for her eternal youth and virginity also played a role in female life cycles especially menstruation. It is found that the etymology of the word- ‘menstruation’ arises from the word ‘mene’(moon). Having left their childhood behind after menarche began, most young women called gynaikes wore a modest piece of clothing known as peplos. Women wore belts and girdles around the waist fitted with intricately embroidered fabric with an amulet of herbs around the neck to alleviate menstrual pains. The Egyptians used wool fused with herbs as a pessary, or vaginal insertion to control menstrual flow. Further citations of historians narrate that menstrual blood was often used in medicines, offerings, agricultural fertilization and magical potions.
The subject of menstruation remained a difficult topic in the middle ages under the powerful influence and growing power of the Church. Even Hinduism, Islam and Judaism had taboos circling menstruation and women were labelled unclean and impure and bound by cultural rituals. Different cultures, different ethnicities and different religions wore different items of clothing, but during the middle ages many women used cloth rags, from where the colloquial term- ‘on the rag’ emerges. In medieval Europe women tied sweet-smelling herbs around their necks and waists, hoping it would mask the odor of blood, in parts of the world people relied on home-remedies and roots to relieve cramps. In the middle ages, devotion to God and family was deemed to be a woman’s true purpose, women who broke free from the confines of society to study science and philosophy were shunned by their community. Men feared people straying from the path of God and the women who did were prosecuted and publicly burnt as witches. Needless to say, people feared the church and any principles other than the words of the Gospel would get a person imprisoned. So, the God-fearing people lived their lives in accordance to religious scriptures and not scientific truth till the days of the Renaissance.
In the Sanskrit text, Vasishtha Dharmasutra, Lord Indra’s triumph over the water demon, Vritra is depicted. Indra overwhelmed by his guilt upon killing a Brahmana, pleaded womenkind to relieve him of his guilt through a regular cycle of repentance. Menstruating was an eternal punishment that women were forced to accept. Indian history has gloriously documented the lives and struggles of queer and non-binary folk through mythological adaptations.
The Puranas, narrate the saga of Prince Suduymna, who was cursed by Lord Shiva to turn into a woman as the moon waned. As a woman, Suduymna or Ila bled and gave birth to King Pururava, and the land they ruled was called Ila-vrata. The Mahabharata speaks of the pregnant king Yuvanashva and Shikandi who became a man to satisfy his wife, the Skanda Puranas narrate the tale of Samavan who became the wife of his male friend when they faced persecution. Since women in the medieval era were kept in the confinement of their closed quarters, in purdah, a blurred picture is painted depicting the menstrual practices of women and few accounts shed light upon the lives of queer and non-binary menstruators. In the Early Vedic Society, women played important roles not only in their household but also in courts, under the sponsorship of emperors, art and philosophy were pursued by scholars. Gender fluidity was more accepted in the society as we learn from the accounts of Hindu scripts, sexual pleasure was not shied upon even by the Gods. Yet, in the Later Vedic Age, with the introduction of the caste system and other social dogmas, women lost their previously enjoyed freedom in society. They lived their daily life according to the rules of men and when it came to menstruation, the very bodily function that allowed a woman to give birth, she was confined to separate chambers and barred from entering holy places or touching any objects for fear of contamination.
Throughout generations, women followed the doctrines and meekly hid behind their chambers during the menstrual period until the colonization of India that brought about radical changes in our country. The British rule over India not only saw changes in trade, commerce and law it also saw transformation in social ethics. With the abolition of sati, women were given more political rights like widow remarriage and inheritance of property. Schools opened their doors for women, and women from noble families could now receive a formal education.
Around this time, menstruators in Europe around 1850 began using sanitary aprons and menstrual belts and the first menstrual pad was invented in 1888 but it isn’t popularly sold until 1920. In the year 1929, Dr. Earle Haas produced the first tampon. Around this time, a serious medical debate arose among intellectuals who proposed the conjecture that menstrual blood contained ‘menotoxin’ a deadly substance that had the potential to pollute everything it came in contact with. The wild and speculative hypothesis, felt to most of us a return to the dark ages of ignorance and stigma where freedom and truth had no place.
The shift in trend from sanitary aprons and cloth rags to tampons and sanitary napkins gives us a glimpse of the changing values in society. Imperialism brought Western culture and ideas to the doorstep of colonized nations like India, and in the 20th century women found their place in fields of science, medicine, education, sports, defense and law. The Constitution replaced religious scriptures as doctrine, with access to education and political rights women realized that they could not afford to confine themselves at home even during the period of menstruation. Hence, working women opted for pads and tampons as they were easier to travel in and work efficiently.
By 1980, sanitary napkins emerged as the more affordable and available menstrual product all over the global market. Globalization brought mass produced sanitary napkins and tampons to India, menstruators found these hygiene products available in their nearest stores at reasonable prices produced by popular brands. In the midst of availability and affordability, environmental impact of these plastic products took a backseat. This brings us to our present scenario; India produces 12.3 million disposable pads each year without any proper menstrual waste management procedures in place. Sanitary products are disposed in open landfills without incineration or recycling. Used sanitary products not only poses a treat to the flora and fauna, but also the health of the healthcare workers. Blood Safai considers menstruation as a public health issue, irrespective of gender. We offer the platform to raise awareness on the impact of improper menstrual waste management and campaign to bring about a sustainable change in society.
