Last week, on a random Instagram scroll, my eyes got stuck and stunned at a post which was titled “Purity of women'', revealing dark facets of Indian tradition where little girls are made to face inhumane torture by their own folks in the name of rituals. In India, there are many customs in which the internal organs of a girl are sewed so that she remains pure before her marriage and on the wedding night, the husband un-sews her through penetration. This was not only horrifying but rather disappointing that despite so much awareness being spread about women’s reproductive health, we are still stuck on these stupid and rather torturous customs. The post made me read more about the subject and as I was reading, one of the major suggestions was this documentary Blood on my hands which captures the subject of menstruation & sexuality of women, and how it is treated in Indian society at large. There are a number of taboos related to menstruation, and in just 30 minutes, the film not only shows women’s opinions and experiences regarding it, but also how the pharmaceutical industry is exploiting our insecurities related to the subject.
Puberty and menstruation are universal, biological processes which are the markers of a woman’s fertility but still there are so many countries and communities that consider it to be a sign of her being impure. They render a menstruating woman, who needs mental and physical support due to hormonal changes, an outcast. Obviously, lack of sex education in India is the reason why an adolescent girl thinks of her biology as something to be ashamed of. It's not just their body going through the changes of being a woman during puberty, but their mind is also being molded by society and its taboos into believing that puberty, sexuality and periods is something unnatural and should not be disclosed. It becomes an ideology that going through periods is something shameful. Same is the case with other aspects of menstruation like PMS or menopause. While these are completely natural phenomena, they are again treated like some kind of disease, like something undesirable and unnatural that should be cured.
While reading about this subject and watching the movie, I was shook to my core due to the unimaginable atrocities that a woman has to face just because of being born in a patriarchal and impoverished society. The documentary also touches upon non-consensual hysterectomy of mentally unstable women. This is the surgical removal of a woman's uterus and other reproductive parts occurs since a mentally unstable person cannot be trusted to understand her own sexuality. The practice is as inhumane in reality as it sounds in theory.
The film is directed by three independent filmmakers who have collaborated on many other social cause projects related to women and other genres. The narrative progresses with a series of interviews along with an occasional dramatic portrayal of events and information to captivate the viewer's attention. The black-and-white vintage shots of a school teacher explaining some common facts regarding menstruation and how it all becomes a ‘distressing time’ for women totally hits the mark of being sarcastic yet accurate commentary. Menstruation isn't something new, it has been part of a woman’s biology since the beginning of time. Neither has it changed in any way, the dramatization showcases it as ‘a tale as old as time itself’.
The film highlights the stories of several girls whose lives changed drastically because of the onset of puberty. They are no longer allowed to be inside the house during their period cycle, and to play or associate with boys anymore. These notions of toxic femininity affect their mental and physical health. Adolescence is a crucial time when a girl's body transforms into that of a woman, at this time proper nutrition and hygiene is important for a healthy and fertile female body. However, this inhuman treatment only encourages her to delay her periods by starving herself or in some other harmful way.
Women go through countless restrictions and are subjugated to endless standards regarding their purity and worthiness. Not even once are they encouraged to be comfortable in their own skin and be proud of their anatomy. The film gives an insight into why something as natural and obvious as a woman's coming of age, is not an acceptable fact in our society.
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