Sonam grandma told her to stay out of Temple and Kitchen during Period

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Maraka_Musso89

@Maraka_Musso89

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+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

Sonam Kapoor Reveals She Was Told To Stay Out Of Temple, Kitchen On Period

Sonam Kapoor drew on her own experience of being told to stay out of certain places while on her period

Entertainment | Written by Gitanjali Roy | Updated: December 11, 2017 16:48 IST

Sonam Kapoor Reveals She Was Told To Stay Out Of Temple, Kitchen On Period

Sonam Kapoor is shooting for her new film Padman

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'Grandmother asking do not go to the temple' when on period, said Sonam
"As city girls we get to hear all of that," she added
"Hust imagine what girls in smaller villages are going through," she said

New Delhi: Actress Sonam Kapoor says she was 'shocked' by the ignorance and taboos that still cloak the subject of menstrual hygiene, revealing that prohibitions were applied within her own family as well. Sonam's work-in-progress film Padman tells the story of A Murugunantham, inventor of a machine that would cheaply manufacture sanitary napkins. Not everyone would consider this film-worthy, Sonam told news agency PTI, adding that urban women are more open to publicly discussing menstruation. "Menstrual hygiene is an issue, which not many people would think can be a good subject for a film. For city girls it is normal, but when we were shooting in Maheshwar and around, the ignorance I saw was shocking," Sonam said, reports PTI.

The actress drew on her own experience of being told to stay out of certain places while on her period. "Even with us, we remember our grandmother asking do not go to the temple, or in the kitchen or don't go close to the pickles. As city girls we get to hear all of that so just imagine what girls in smaller villages are going through," Sonam Kapoor told PTI.

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This sort of "backward thinking" is the focus of Padman, which co-stars Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte. It is written and produced by Akshay's wife Twinkle Khanna and directed by R Balki.

Sonam Kapoor says films and marquee names help highlight social themes. "Cinema is the largest medium. It reaches out to a larger audience. Especially, if you have mainstream stars attached to such films, it works. For a film like Munnabhai or PK, if they have big names attached to them, and the issues are pertinent, it makes a big difference," she told PTI.

Padman, which features a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan, is expected in theatres o

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Maraka_Musso89

@Maraka_Musso89

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+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

It doesn't shock me that one would be asked not to perform prayers during their periods but the kitchen part might be too much in my opinion.

Periods shouldn't be something people are ashamed to talk about because every (most) girls have their periods and every guys mothers have them.

I hope this movie will change the mentalities because what she said reminds me of a documentary I had seen about Nepal or was it India ? In which girls were shunned away during their periods.

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TheAquaCapri

@TheAquaCapri

Dazzler

Posted: 8 years ago

I relate to this. This is a very common practise in a Hindu household. Women are prohibited from entering temples, kitchen or even asked to not go near Tulsi plant which is considered sacred. Hope such regressive practises end.

Edited by TheAquaCapri - 8 years ago

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TheBoss

@TheBoss

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+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

Happened to me too. Period discrimination is not ok. Period

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Peanutbolt

@Peanutbolt

Voyager

Posted: 8 years ago

Umm it wasn't regressive in my place tho...whenever i asked my mom why would they want to sit seperately and not be allowed touch anything.. she would say it is a resting time and women tend to be weak physically, so they are asked to take complete rest from everything for 3 days.

I feel somewhere these days Hinduism is lost in translation.. women were always held at atmost power in Hinduism calling her shakti...heck we have a Kamkhya temple in assam, where the goddess sati's yoni is treated sacred.

Just because there are certain customs followed by few people do not make them regressive..

Edited by Peanutbolt - 8 years ago

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Padfoot_Prongs

@Padfoot_Prongs

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 8 years ago

Wasn't it supposed hygiene thing? I mean earlier there were no pads. It was cloths which If we think now is little bit gross. Just a guess. I do think that many of these things were related to health and hygiene.

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ponymo

@ponymo

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Posted: 8 years ago

Perpetuated by the upper crust men of the patriarchal society and followed by naive women who were made to believe they were indeed not pavitra during their periods.

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anjs

@anjs

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+ 6

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: Peanutbolt
Umm it wasn't regressive in my place tho...whenever i asked my mom why would they want to sit seperately and not be allowed touch anything.. she would say it is a resting time and women tend to be weak physically, so they are asked to take complete rest from everything for 3 days.

I feel somewhere these days Hinduism is lost in translation.. women were always held at atmost power in Hinduism calling her shakti...heck we have a Kamkhya temple in assam, where the goddess sati's yoni is treated sacred.

Just because there are certain customs followed by few people do not make them regressive..

Exactly, sitting aside is meant as a mean to get rest... in today's world our lives are easy, but those times, women used to do lots of hard labourous work, like fetching water from the well, washing laundry by the river side and also farming activities. Thats why they were forced to strictly rest during periods time. Also since most women would not listen due to not giving any priority to one self, it was forced by the elders to do so. So that the woman wont feel guilty for not helping out in the work.

Hindu Culture are not completely regressive, It was proper for those times when it was formulated, and lots of rituals we follow also have scientific basis, which is hardly preached, so we dont even know the reason behind them.

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anjs

@anjs

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+ 6

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: ponymo
Perpetuated by the upper crust men of the patriarchal society and followed by naive women who were made to believe they were indeed not pavitra during their periods.

Its not about being pavitra, its about getting enough rest, during the times when women were used to hectic labourous work. Yes, it did loose the meaning through out times.

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Maraka_Musso89

@Maraka_Musso89

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+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

#10

Originally posted by: anjs

Its not about being pavitra, its about getting enough rest, during the times when women were used to hectic labourous work. Yes, it did loose the meaning through out times.

You said it yourself. It's the meaning which makes this custom regressive or not.

If you explain to the girl that she has to stau away because women used to rest during this time of the month, they won't feel badly about therefore if they are simply ordered to stay out of the kitchen because they are deemed impure then they would feel badly about it.

That's why it's important to understand the meaning of the customs to pass them on. They shouldn't use them to make people feel badly or have an ascendant on them.