In A Kolkata Theatre, A Woman Was Not Allowed To Use The Washroom Because She Was Menstruating. Women Bleed, So What?
When I started menstruating, I remember a lot of families including mine were not very woke about things. My grandmother used to restrict me from being a part of poojas and going to the temple. In my house it was not that extreme because I know some families wouldn’t even let the women enter the kitchen. But still it really bothered me. And I have always been vocal against things that I found wrong so I explained to my family that such beliefs are basically shit and they understood. As I grew up, I realised that most people around me stopped being so orthodox and I genuinely felt that maybe our society at large is evolving. I bet you felt the same. What we don’t realise, sitting in our homes that several people in India are still shaming women for something that’s nothing but the course of nature.
Recently, we heard of several incidences which gave us a glimpse into the period-shaming that has been plaguing our society. There have been instances when students were stripped naked to check if they are menstruating and it made our blood boil. It had been just a few days and now we have another incident that happened in a theatre in Kolkata.
According to a report in Times of India, a woman was not allowed to use the washroom by a housekeeping staff because she was on her period. Unbelievable, right? Apparently, the staff told her that she would dirty the floor and hence asked her to use the washroom outside the premises. This is when the woman and her husband got into an argument with the theatre staff. After this mistreatment, they went to the Shyampukur police station to file a complaint against the theatre.
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An officer reportedly said, “After the show got over, the woman went to use the washroom but found a few housekeeping staffers cleaning the facility. They refused her entry to the bathroom. However, the hall staffers claimed that she tried to use the entry gate to come out of the hall and they requested her to use the exit gate instead. The woman then told them that she was on her period. It was then that one of the housekeeping staffers stopped her from using the washroom and suggested that she use a toilet outside the theatre.”
In fact, it was not just the theatre staff but also the bystanders who made rude remarks on the couple. And while the manager had apologised to them at the police station, the theatre authorities later said, “No theatre in Kolkata has ever asked women if they are menstruating or not. They have used the toilets without ever having to disclose this information. The same rule applies in my theatre as well.”
ALSO READ: In Gujarat, Female Trainees Were Asked To Strip To Check If They Were Pregnant. Why Does No One Care About Our Dignity?
It is a shame that such things still have a place in our society. Women bleed and there is nothing impure about it. I am glad that these orthodox people are getting called out and we won’t stop at anything!
