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The Times of India
The Times of India
Lifestyle
TIMESOFINDIA.COM

Mother's period party for daughter gets both appreciation and support

Jade Powell threw a period party for her 11 year old daughter. The mother of four, decided to throw her daughter a period party, to show her and her friends that there's nothing to feel ashamed of when it comes to menstruation, as per reports.

The party had pizza, cupcakes, and tie-dyed shirts.

Sharing the details of the party on TikTok, Powell said, "At the party, we never talked about periods. It was just a fun day with lots of red decor. We had pizza, cupcakes, and tie-dyed shirts. The invites said something like 'first moon extravaganza', please join us in celebrating, blah blah. It had little smiling uteruses on it."

As a return gift, girls took a pack with stuffed pads and tampons and a book about puberty.

Read: Britney Spears devastated after miscarriage; tips to process the pain of pregnancy loss

While netizens have hailed Jade's initiative to normalise menstruation, this drags attention to why is it not seen as a normal thing in many parts of the world?

Circa anytime in the history of mankind: Women hesitate talking about it. Men have literally no idea and interest in knowing what it is about. Young girls are told not to talk about it.

The understanding about menstruation is so poor and controlled by unwritten rules that even if there is a complication around it women hesitate to talk. The normal and periodic biological process that occurs in a woman's body and is directly related to pregnancy and reproduction, is considered to be a shame to be talked about openly.

Menstruation is loathed as impure and the women are restricted from performing religious activities and daily chores that concern other members of the family. In many places women are kept out of the boundaries of the household for the entire menstrual cycle.

Young girls are not told about the sanitary hygiene that is imperative during menstruation. It is difficult to estimate how many girls and women are having menstruation related complications as these cases never make it till the desk of a physician and are home-treated using rudimentary practices.

Despite these poor and illogical rules on menstruation, there are several places in our country where menstruation is celebrated.

Places where menstruation is celebrated

While there are several places where menstruation is seen as a taboo, there are several other places in our country where it is nothing less than a celebration.

In Odisha, a three day festival called Raja festival is held to celebrate menstruation and womanhood. It is believed that in these three days the mother earth menstruates. During these three days of Raja festival young girls and women enjoy merry making and celebration.

In the southern parts of the country, Manjal Neerattu Vizha or Ritu Kala Samskara is observed to celebrate a girl's menstruation. The girl is given sarees and gifts from the elders.

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