Sociology Assignment

An Ethnographic Survey
Menstruation – A Taboo in India

This project as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the HS-

307 Sociology course is done by:
Anik Biswas 160020111
Ankit Neema 160020077
Harshit Handa 160020061
Raghav Goyal 160040110
Under guidance of: Professor Suryakant Waghmore
Abstract:
In this assignment that we have prepared, we interviewed
people from different age groups and those who belongs to different
working and economic classes asking them about different
perspective that revolves around one natural physical phenomenon
but considered as a “taboo” known as menstruation. However, it has
always been surrounded by taboos and myths that exclude women
from many aspects of socio-cultural life. In India, the topic has been a
taboo until date. Such taboos about menstruation present in many
societies impact on girls’ and women’s emotional state, mentality and
lifestyle and most importantly, health.

The challenge, of addressing the socio-cultural taboos and

beliefs in menstruation, is further compounded by the young girls’
knowledge level and understandings of puberty, menstruation, and
reproductive health. Thus, there is the need to follow a strategic
approach in combating these issues.

The current report aims to discuss menstruation related myths

prevalent in India, their impact on women's life. This report also
focuses on the dynamics of ideology, values of Indian social system on
menstruation.
Introduction:

Menstruation is the natural part of the reproductive cycle in

which blood from the uterus exits through the vagina. It is a natural
process that first occurs in girls usually between the age of 11 and 14
years and is one of the indicators of the onset of puberty among
them. Despite being a phenomenon unique to girls, this has always
been surrounded by secrecy and myths in many societies. Taboos
surrounding menstruation exclude women and girls from many
aspects of social and cultural life. Some of these are helpful, but
others have potentially harmful implications.
Myths in India:

In India even mere mention of the topic has been a taboo in the past and even
to this date the cultural and social influences appear to be a hurdle for
advancement in these subject. Culturally in many parts of India, menstruation is
still considered to be dirty and impure. The origin of this myth dates back to the
Vedic times. Evidently, it has been declared in the Veda that guilt, of killing a
brahmana-murder, appears every month as menstrual flow as women had
taken upon themselves a part of Indra's guilt. Further, in the Hindu faith,
women are prohibited from participating in normal life while menstruating. She
must be “purified” before she is allowed to return to her family and day to day
chores of her life. However, scientifically it is known that the actual cause of
menstruation is ovulation followed by missed chance of pregnancy that results
in bleeding from the endometrial vessels and is followed by preparation of the
next cycle. Therefore, there seems no reason for this notion to persist that
menstruating women are “impure.”
Many girls and women are subject to restrictions in their daily lives simply
because they are menstruating. Not entering the “puja” room is the major
restriction among urban girls whereas, not entering the kitchen is the main
restriction among the rural girls during menstruation. Menstruating girls and
women are also restricted from offering prayers and touching holy books. The
underlying basis for this myth is also the cultural beliefs of impurity associated
with menstruation. It is further believed that menstruating women are
unhygienic and unclean and hence the food they prepare or handle can get
contaminated. According to study by Kumar and Srivastava in 2011,
participating women also reported that during menstruation the body emits
some specific smell or ray, which turns preserved food bad. But in contrary to
this, no scientific test has shown menstruation as the reason for spoilage of any
food in making. Cultural norms and religious taboos on menstruation are often
compounded by traditional associations with evil spirits, shame and
embarrassment surrounding sexual reproduction. In Surinam, menstrual blood
is believed to be dangerous, and a malevolent person can do harm to a
menstruating woman or girl by using black magic. However, there seems to be
no logical or scientific explanation for this.
In some parts of India, perceptions of Hinduism centre on notions of purity and
pollution. Bodily excretions are believed to be polluting, as are the bodies when
producing them. Moreover, Menstruating women are not allowed to take a bath
especially for first few days of their menstrual period. It is believed that if a girl
or woman touches a cow while she is on her period, that the cow will become
infertile – leading girls to associate their own bodies with curse and impurity.
Interview 1:
Name: Vidhya Sethi
Age: 30
Phd. Student (Married)
Department: Humanities and Social Sciences (Psychology)
Email: sethi.vidhya@gmail.com

Q. When did you come to know that females undergo through a biological phenomenon called
‘menstruation’? Before first time or after?
I came to know about menstruation in 9th standard, before I started menstruating.
Q. If before, How?
A friend of mine started menstruating first and told me about it. So I knew about this before it
started happening to me.
Q. During the first times, were you scared after seeing the blood?
Initially I felt as if something is not right, I was a little scared despite the fact I knew that it happens
to every girl. When it started happening to me, I didn’t even tell my friend who told me in the first
place.
Q. How did your family members support you? How differently did your mother and your father
support you?
My mother knew about it. I approached her when this started happening. I did not talk about this to
anyone else other than my mother and maternal aunt. I have an elder brother and a sister. Mother
provided me with sanitary napkins and meds. Massi helped me more. Massi was younger and a little
bit more approachable, so she was more helpful. I had no interaction in this respect with my father.
Probably for him something like this doesn’t exist.
Q. Have you ever discussed on menstruation with any male such as brother, friends?
I have discussed this with very few male people, mostly my friends in college while I was graduating.
Q. If you are married, during the cycle days how do you get support from your better half? If you
are not, then do other male family members get to know that you are undergoing through this
process? Do they want to keep it private affair?
As of now I can openly talk about this with my husband. He is cooperative and is always supportive
in this respect.
Q. What is so secret about periods? Why a taboo? It is directly linked with maternity?
There is ‘no’ reason for this taboo. It is something that has been going on since very long. It is
something unique to women which is probably why in old times it was a taboo (maybe still is).
“Whisper ad is shown on the TV, time is changing”. For example nowadays shopkeepers ask if you
want it to be wrapped in a newspaper etc. Personally “I am comfortable” I had interaction with
people who had an open mind. So I am more comfortable now. Also YouTube helped me in opening
up on this issue and also people in IIT.
Q. Do you feel depressed during those day? If yes, what do you do?
Yes I do, but occasionally. I feel if you sit idle then you are likely to get more depressed. So ii just get
out of the house and work or do something which helps me get my mind off the pain.
Q. Do you think, this affects your personal, academic or professional life?
Yes it does, periods are often associated with gastric issues, and there may be pre-periods too. I ask
myself questions like “should I go swimming today”, “should I go to the temple?” Of course there is
pain associated with it and I can’t stand for a long time etc. Sometimes I am also forced to cancel my
plans.
Q. Do you consider boys lucky because they don’t face effects of menstruation?
Not really to be honest. Guys probably have their own problems. Even boys can complain, “Why
can’t they give birth”. It is a natural process. Plus Men are less vocal about their issues.
Q. Earlier, you said that you can’t go to the temple during period? Why is that?
It is just a practice (hesitates). My mother told me that I shouldn't go to temple during periods. I am
a Jain and it is written in our holy text, plus I believe I am not educated enough to understand and
challenge our texts. I won’t go against it with half knowledge. It is okay to not rebel everything in life.
I am a Jain. And I believe that religion is deeper than our day to day logic and I don’t wish to
challenge it.
Q. Some MNCs incorporated this new scheme that 1 day leave will be given to women during
periods? What is your reaction to that?
I have a mixed reaction to this. Firstly i think there was too much hype in this idea/scheme. Secondly,
the pain is bearable, even i work during my periods and i am sure that at least 90% women are. Also
there may be pre periods too. So this scheme will be impractical. Also like i said, women deal with it
better if they are working.
Q. Have you heard about the Sabarimala temple problem? What are your views?
I haven’t heard anything about Sabarimala temple. Problem there is very bad. It shouldn’t be that
way.
Q. How do you think poor women deal with periods, with lack of money or sanitary pads and
medicines?
I am sure they must be going through a hard time using a cloth as an alternative to a pad. God knows
how they manage. They can’t even take leaves if they are working as maids or something that
involves daily wages. One thing I want to add is they are physically active, they might be
malnutritioned and weak but they are very active, and probably the pain gets subsided in whatever
work it is they do. I feel exercise makes a lot of difference.
Q. Do you think that sanitary pad vending machines should be installed in colleges or govt.
Bodies?
Well I may be comfortable in buying these pads but everyone might not be. Hence I think, machines
should be installed. They come in handy. It is equivalent to getting a coffee in a coffee shop.
Q. Please add a few words to conclude this interview.
These days there are more products, there are tampons, menstrual cups etc. things available to
people. People are becoming more and more aware. Here in IIT at least people are talking about it,
creating awareness and I believe this won’t be a taboo in future.
Interview 2:
Name: Harjasnoor Kaur
Age: 19
College Student

Q. When did you come to know that females undergo through a biological phenomenon called
‘menstruation’? Before first time or after?
I got to know about menstruation in 10th standard which a year before I started menstruating.
Q. If before, How?
My mother told me about menstruation before I started menstruating.
Q. During the first times, were you scared after seeing the blood?
Initially of course it was super scary seeing the blood, but since I was told about it beforehand, and
the fact that it happens to everyone, it was okay.
Q. How did your family members support you? How differently did your mother and your father
support you?
My mother knows about it and she keeps track of my cycles. My father gets me the sanitary napkins
whenever I need them. I have one younger brother who I think doesn’t probably know that
something like this exists.
Q. Have you ever discussed on menstruation with any male such as brother, friends?
Yes, I have discussed about this with my male friends mostly with respect to the physical, mental and
emotional changes that are associated with it. Brother is too young and I would feel a little
uncomfortable in discussing this with him.

Q. If you are married, during the cycle days how do you get support from your better half? If you
are not, then do other male family members get to know that you are undergoing through this
process? Do they want to keep it private affair?

As of now my father knows about it as he buys the sanitary napkins so mostly it isn’t really a private
affair. At the same time we don’t talk about it openly. Some of the things are just self-explanatory.

Q. What is so secret about periods? Why a taboo? It is directly linked with maternity.

Well, menstruation is a periodic biological process and it should be treated as just that.
Unfortunately, it is a taboo in our country and illiteracy probably contributes a lot to it. There is no
specific reason for this taboo. People are just a little less aware about this.

Q. Do you feel depressed during those day? If yes, what do you do?

It's not depressing, per se. It's just harder than normal days due to the lower abdomen and legs pain.
Sure there are mood swings, but it depends on how you wish to tackle the pain.

Q. Do you think, this affects your personal, academic or professional life?

Obviously, it affects personal life in the sense that one tends to avoid physical work and exercise
during those days. You just feel like crouching on the bed, sleeping or just relaxing. So you end up
wasting time and also ditching plans.

Q. Do you consider boys lucky because they don’t face effects of menstruation?
Boys are lucky in the sense that they don't have to go through it every 4 out of 30 days. It's not
something very uncomfortable though.
Q. Some MNCs incorporated this new scheme that 1 week holiday will be given to women during
periods? What is your reaction to that?
That is actually a great idea but I feel 1 week is a lot. One-two days will be enough. Also women
might end up misusing the leaves as in taking them for other purposes.
Q. Have you heard about the Sabarimala temple problem? What are your views?
I haven’t heard anything about Sabarimala temple.
Q. How do you think poor women deal with periods, with lack of money or sanitary pads and
medicines?
They must be going through a pathetic time. I feel bad that I never really paid attention or even
asked my own maid how she is dealing with something like this.
Q. Do you think that sanitary pad vending machines should be installed in colleges or Govt bodies?
Machines should not be installed. People will not be able to overcome the hesitation to go to a shop
and ask the shopkeeper to buy a pack of sanitary napkins. Then the taboo will stay forever.

Current Scenario in India

Awareness
Young girls often grow up with limited knowledge of menstruation because their
mothers and other women shy away from discussing the issue with them (UKAID)
10% of the girls in India believe menstruation is a disease (UKAID)
Only 13% of the girls are aware of menstruation before their first period
(UNICEFMHM)
56% of the girls –in and out of school- did not receive any information about
menstruation (UNICEFMHM)
66% of the Indian girls do not know anything about menstruation before their first
period (UNICEFMHM)
87% of the women and girls are completely unaware about menstruation and do
not have any knowledge about the purpose of menstruation as a biological process
(UNICEFMHM)
For 23% of the girls in rural areas of India, having their period is one of the reasons
to quit school, with irreversible effects for their personal development, economical
status and eventually their health
Use of materials
28% of the students in India do not go to school during their period, due to lack of
facilities and materials (UNICEF)
In India the majority of Women in rural areas are using reusable cloths to absorb
menstrual blood (WaterAid)
For the absorption of menstrual blood, 89 per cent use cloth, 2 per cent cotton
wool, 7 per cent sanitary pads and 2 per cent ash (WaterAid)
Of the women using cloth as absorbents, half of them use the same cloth for more
than a month (WaterAid)
75% of the girls do not have any idea about what material to use to absorb the flow
(UNICEFMHM)e
75% of the girls use cotton cloths during their period (UNICEFMHM)
27% of the girls in schools do not use any material at all (UNICEFMHM)
Only 16% of the girls use sanitary napkins (UNICEFMHM)

Hygiene and access to products

43%-88% percent of girls in urban India use reusable cloth, yet they are often
washed without soap or clean water. Only 12% of schools have soap available
(UNICEF)
In India 14% of the girls report to suffer from menstrual infections (WaterAid)
52% of the female population is of reproductive age and most of them are
menstruating every month. The majority of them have no access to clean and safe
sanitary products (SSWM)

Lack of facilities and appropriate sanitary products can push menstruating girls
out of school (SSWM)
60% of girls in India only change their menstrual cloths once a day (UKAID)
High costs and unavailability of sanitary pads is the prime reason for women and
girls in India not to use sanitary pads (WaterAid)
Poor menstrual hygiene not only affects physical health, but also social mental
well-being, thus is a violation of the human right to health
(MenstrualHygienDay.org)
In rural India, many women and girls use unsanitary materials such as old rags,
husks, dried leaves, grass, ash, sand or newspapers because they do not have
access to affordable, hygienic and safe products and facilities
(MenstrualHygieneDay.org)
Shops in own villages or the environment often do not have sanitary pads for sale,
because there is no demand for it (UNICEFMHM)
41% of adolescents hide their cloth in the room, 22% in the roof and 11% share the
cloth with others (UNICEFMHM)

Sources: WaterAid, 2009: Menstrual hygiene in South Asia; UKAid 2012: Menstrual Hygiene Matters;
UNICEF 2012: Menstrual hygiene – manage it well; Menstrualhygieneday.org, 2015; SSWM: Menstrual
hygiene management webpage
Interview 3:
Name: Purbita Poddar
Age: 20
Medical Student

Q. When did you come to know that females undergo through a biological phenomenon called
‘menstruation’? Before first time or after? Were you scared after seeing blood?
I didn't know before the first time I had menstruation. My mother explained to me. My father didn't
know that my menstrual cycle had started. Seeing blood for the first time, I got scared a little. I thought
it to be a physical anomaly.

Q. Were you told something inhibitory by your parents?

I started menstruating at comparatively younger age than other girls. My mother told me not to
disclose the fact to my other friends in my school.

Q. If you are married, during the cycle days how do you get support from your better half?

Because of the society I belong to, I expect my better half to be supportive. If he possess any kind of
prejudice regarding this, I would like to explain him scientifically and rationally why menstruation
not a taboo and a very normal biological phenomenon.

Q. Do you feel depressed while menstruating? What do you feel then?

While menstruating, women feel depressed sometimes. When I had for the first time, I was little
depressed. Why me? I have to live a long part of my life with this periodical phenomenon.

Q. Do you think, this affects

your personal, academic or
professional life?

During period days, when my

health gets weaker, I have to
face hindrances in my normal
academic and private life.
Moreover I have to be extra
cautious in public life so that
there is no leakage.

Q. Do you consider boys lucky because they don’t face effects of menstruation?
I don’t consider men to be lucky. They have their own lifestyle. I adapted to mine.

Q. Have you ever experienced any taboo related to menstruation?

I have one relative elder sister, her parents told her, during period days, "don’t look at temples and
don’t touch gods in home." My mother suggests me after period days to bath cleanly with soap and
shampoo, though there is no contamination to my body during my menstruation.
Q. What is so secret about period?
A middle class family boy, father, uncle don’t want to entangle their private life with menstruation.
They consider it to be a very private affair in women’s' life. So they don’t indulge in any open support
to the female members of the family.

Q. Have you heard about the Sabarimala temple situation? What are your views?
The authorities in Sabarimala temple feel insecure to women. They think, if their bubbles of myth burst
someday, they would lose their social position and power. They are hostile and want to prove their
authoritativeness over social actions. This is a part of patriarchal society. They want to suppress
women and keep them inside four walls.

Sabarimala Temple case:

The Sabarimala temple, located in the
Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western
Ghat mountain ranges of
Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, has
lakhs of pilgrims visits it every year for
darshan. Pilgrims trek the Neelimala to
reach the shrine, which has 18 sacred
steps, to worship Lord Ayyappa after
observing strict abstinence vows for 48
days.
The temple is also prominent for
another reason — the selective ban on
women entering it. Women aged
between 10 and 50, that is those who
are in menstruating age, are barred
from entering the temple. While there
is no restriction on women to worship
Lord Ayyappa in any other temple, their
entry is prohibited in this temple. The Indian Young Lawyers Association and five women lawyers approached
the Supreme Court seeking a direction to allow entry of women into the temple without age restrictions.
Another group of women, part of the "Happy to Bleed" campaign, has also sought the court's direction on
whether society should continue to bear with “menstrual discrimination.". Their petition contended that
discrimination in matters of entry into temples was neither a ritual nor a ceremony associated with Hindu
religion and that such discrimination was anti-Hindu. The religious denomination could only restrict entry into
the sanctum sanctorum and could not ban entry into the temple, making a discrimination on the basis of sex.
The Travancore Devasom Board, which maintains the temple, had replied that the
ban was in accordance to the centuries-old tradition. Lord Ayyappa, being a Naishtika Brahmmachari (one
who has vowed to remain celibate). Another argument put forth by the temple authorities is that it is not
possible for women to put up with the physical hardship, austerity and days of celibacy like men.
The 1991 SC’s judgment:
The ongoing trial in the Supreme Court has also put the spotlight on a 1991 Kerala High Court judgment, which
held that the restriction was in accordance with a usage from time immemorial and not discriminatory under
the Constitution. Upholding the restrictions, the High Court, in its judgment, said: “According to The
Sabarimala Thanthri, these customs and usages had to be followed for the welfare of the temple. He said
only persons who had observed penance and followed the customs are eligible to enter the temple and it is
not proper for young women to do so." Twenty-five years after this judgment, the Supreme Court has
questioned the “logic” behind the restriction, even wondering whether there was any proof that women did
not enter the sanctum sanctorum 1,500 years ago.
Earlier instances:
The Sabarimala Temple thanthri would perform a "purification ceremony" at the 18-sacred steps that lead to
the sanctum sanctorum, whenever the rules are violated. The last ceremony took place in December 2011,
after a 35-year-old woman managed to climb the "pathinettam padi".
In 2006, astrologer P. Unnikrishna Panicker conducted a "devaprasnam" at the temple and 'found' that
there were signs of a woman having entered the sanctum sanctorum. Soon after this, yesteryear Kannada
actor Jayamala said she had entered the temple and even touched the idol in 1987, when she was shooting
for a movie. Amidst outrage, the Kerala police filed a report, stating the entire episode was "orchestrated to
gain publicity." The case is pending in the Kerala High Court. Though, courts have generally not interfered in
the traditions and practices followed in religious place, it has never failed to uphold equality whenever
discrimination was reported. In this conflict of worshipping rights versus customs, all eyes are now on the
Supreme Court.

Q. What do you think about the incidents of displaying protest with sanitary pads took places in
Indian Universities like Jamia Millia and Jadavpur?
The students in Jamia Millia and Jadavpur University wanted to break the stereotype. They are
progressive. But they were branded as obscene and bad-culture. The common mass was against this
kind of demonstration. The students directly confronted the society’s orthodoxies.

#PADSAGAINSTSEXISM

19-year-old Elone Kastrati from Karlsruhe, Germany in March 2015 started the “Pads Against
Sexism” movement that stems from the fact of how offended society is by sanitary napkins- and yet
not so much by the routine sexism and harassment that women face in their everyday lives!

To make people take note of this problem, Elone wrote little notes on pads and stuck them in
public places around her city. Soon, the movement went viral across the world.
 The campaign reached in India too. Groups of students from Jamia Millia Islamia University in
Delhi and Jadavpur University in Kolkata peppered their campus with sanitary napkins. The napkins
were inscribed with slogans related to gender sensitization and the stigma of those raped or molested.

However, many people looked disgusted by the messages. "Most people didn't show interest.
Others looked the other way. I don't think we will be able to continue in Jamia as we may not get
permission. But some read the messages and showed interest," said one student.

"It is not a
socially acceptable
means of registering
a protest," says
Ashish Swarup
Verma, Vice
Chancellor of
Jadavpur University.
"I am not against
the protest, it is
their democratic
right. We should
understand what we
should display what
we should not
display." He has
now set up a panel
to identify those
responsible and take action.
Four students of Jamia Millia Islamia, who tried to raise awareness about rape and sexism on
the campus by putting up sanitary pads with messages written on them, were served a show-cause.
The university issued the notice to them for their March 12, 2015, campaign.

"What is socially acceptable and what

But the protesting students turned no hair.
is not? Is the sanitary napkin not acceptable? Is menstruation not
acceptable? Or are women as a whole not acceptable to society?" asked
Joey Banerjee, a student.
Q. Do you think that sanitary pad
vending machines should be installed in
India?
Sanitary napkin vending machine must be
installed not only in educational
institutes, but also in all major public
places because a lady may need a sanitary
napkin at any time outside of her home
and she may forget to carry a napkin from
her home.

Sanitary Napkin Vending Machine in a Kerala school

Q. Have you got awareness of

menstruation in your school?

In our school, the corporate sanitary napkin selling companies used to visit. They gave us sample pads
to use. They discussed their experiences related to this issue and helped us to overcome the taboo.
This never happens in boys’ school or maybe in co-ed school because do not face menstruation. But
boys also need to be enlightened about menstruation in their teen age because wrong information is
deadlier than lack of information. Such
campaign must happen in every school. The
parents of the boys need to make their son
aware of menstruation. If in later years, when
boys get to know about period from other
sources, for some of them the knowledge
regarding period is out of the sphere and they
take it awkwardly. That’s why, boys’ parents
should provide their sons knowledge of
menstruation as well as sex education.

Q. Some MNCs incorporated this new

scheme that 1 week holiday will be given to women during periods? What is your reaction to that?

During my period days, if I do not suffer from any complications and if I can continue my normal life, I
most certainly want to continue my profession for those days. Otherwise, there must be provision for
taking leaves for women on period days. On period, when my bleeding never stops, vomiting makes
me frail, leaves should be sanctioned for me on humanitarian ground. Just like how women get their
maternity leave, they should also be granted menstrual leave.

Q. Recently an ad floated on UK TV. It is different from other sanitary napkin ads and it created an
uproar from a part of society. What’s your take on it?

I do not have a problem with the controversial sanitary pad advertisement. They are free minded and
want to demolish the social taboos. People who are stereotypical, for them it goes against their
cherished value and so they can’t digest the ad properly.
A sanitary product company is tackling the stigma around periods by depicting menstrual blood in
its new advert.

The Bodyform advert shows a hand pouring realistic-looking blood onto a sanitary towel, followed
by a close-up of blood on a woman’s legs in the shower.

We're used to watching adventurous women rollerblading, rock climbing and completing all
manner of activities you may not feel like doing on your period in adverts for personal hygiene
products.

But the 20 second #bloodnormal ad deals with the more familiar things we experience on our
period, showing a boyfriend buying pads for his girlfriend and a woman in comfortable knickers.

Q. People are not comfortable in purchasing pads

openly from the shops in India. Are you a part of
them?

When people go to shops to sanitary pad in India, the

shopkeeper packs it in black opaque polythene so that
people on the streets cannot get view of it. I do not
have any inhibition in showing the pad carrying in my
hand.

Q. Nowadays we can see lots of trolls, memes related to

menstruation. Those are not only humourless, moreover highly
pervert and insulting to ladies. What do you say?

The people who are grundy about menstruation, their only crisis is
that the blood comes out of our vaginal canal and that is meant
to be secret. Men grow beard and they need to shave it. For me,
menstruation is comparable to beard of men. In lieu of facial hair
in case of men, we abandon blood. I think, if men grew beard in
private places, it would have been a taboo to shave. Some
patriarchal morons try to prove their superiority for being male.
For them, being women is a form of degradation. This is not only just relegation of human values, but
perversion

B
r
e N
a o
k r
i m
n s
g

Rupi Kaur, an artist whose image of herself with blood on her bed and trousers was removed from
Instagram has denied uploading the picture to be provocative, saying it was aimed at challenging the
taboos surrounding menstruation instead.
Rupi Kaur uploaded an image onto the social networking site for a menstruation-themed photo
series developed by her and her sister Prabh. The image, which was taken by Prabh, shows Ms Kaur
lying down on a bed fully clothed with two spots of blood visible on her clothes and on the sheet.
It was removed from Instagram twice for violating its community standards. Ms Kaur challenged
the removal and the image was eventually restored on the site.
She told BBC, "You won't go on vacation because of your period, you change
your wedding date, it goes everywhere with you and you are in so much
pain. Women are hospitalised."
Instagram later apologised to Ms Kaur and said it had removed it by mistake.

Petition filed for removal of tax (GST) on sanitary napkins:

Data in the public domain show:
o This 12% is liable to a VAT that can go up to 14% varying from state to state.
o Media reports a 12% tax is expected to be applicable even with the proposed GST (Goods and
Services Tax).

“Sanitary Napkin is not a luxury, but a necessity”, quoted a petitioner.

It is bound to have an impact on attendance of girls in schools, adding impetus to greater women participation
in our work force which is just a meagre 21.9%. Affordability, ease of availability and accessibility needs to be
at the forefront of this battle.

Why is the tax unfair?

Women are being taxed 12 months a year, for about 39 years on a process they have no control over.

What the government needs to do…

With the GST that is going to be implemented, a step needs be taken by the central government to make
sanitary napkins tax free (like condoms and contraceptives) as it is an essential item which is a necessity for
every woman.

This step will only bolster the idea of 'Beti Bachao Beti Padao' and 'Swachh Bharat’.

Solution to this problem:

A 100% tax exemption for the production and distribution of environment and health friendly pads (reusable
cloth sanitary napkins and environment friendly napkins) will:

o Add impetus to the reach of the product

o Also help the organisations involved in the production of these pads that also gives
livelihood opportunities to rural women.

Our views regarding this issue:

Since according to the data we have by the survey, it seems not a lot of women and girls are using these
products. Without biasing much, we can surely indicate that original target is way shifted from the expected.
Government should keep this new strategy in place for a period of time , govt, should conduct another survey
then only we would have the real scenario and then decide whether to continue with the current taxes or
need to form an another structure for the tax plans.

Some Initiatives taken by several organizations to spread awareness

about menstruation:
Menstrual Hygiene management, taken by ministry of drinking water
and sanitation, Government of India: - Availed an online booklet
underlying all the precautions and sanitation methods.
Sanitary health education (SHE), taken by Techfest IIT Bombay: -
distributed sanitary pads in nearby 50-60 villages also provided with
essential knowledge to be required during those days.
 Menstrual man, Arunachalam Muruganantham’s Jayshree Industries: -
Creating low-cost sanitary napkins that can be made and used by
women in rural communities.

Around 60 to 70 per cent girls in Maharashtra do not attend school while they are
menstruating. This revelation was made in the Government Resolution (GR) issued by state on
October 27, following which the government has launched an initiative to educate children on
menstrual hygiene and create more awareness on the issue. In a first such move in this field,
the state has informed that a task force will be formed, at the district as well as the state level,
to monitor implementation of this initiative in schools. Besides making menstrual hygiene
education mandatory in schools, the state also plans to educate parents about the need for
shunning taboos or superstitions associated with the menstrual cycle, in India. Schools have
been instructed to follow the extensive programme on menstrual hygiene education designed
by UNICEF, which includes six exhaustive sessions by hygiene experts, one every month.

Report
On the basis of sociological imagination, Mills asserts that human being
cannot be understood apart from the social and historical background in which
they were formed and interact. As we discussed the case of Sabarimala Temple,
in which women during their menstruating age are banned to enter. The
Travancore Devasom Board, argued to support this norm on the grounds of
centuries-old tradition that it is not considered valid to enter the temple
premises. These statements and the naive logics behind them clearly indicates
that how history and biography is crucial in the understanding of the issue
enclosing it. Clearly, Humans are strongly motivated by the norms and beliefs
that are structured by the society, always leads to confusion. For example,
practices like not to enter in temple during periods, avoid going to kitchen, avoid
cooking food, treated as untouchable during those days and if they do so the
belief is that purification is important. They are considered impure during these
days in many regions in our country largely due to the ‘words of motivation’
that leads to nowhere. Therefore, there is a need to alter the structure of these
kind of institutions and undermine the myths regarding menstruation. To obtain
a solution from this very problem, we need to frame this trouble as a public
issue. It is the most important conclusion we can draw from the interviews and
readings we have got. As there is always a science and methodology involved to
reach a solution, these factors are important. As we observed, Menstruation has
always been surrounded by secrecy and myths in many societies, considered as
ritually unclean. Taboos surrounding menstruation exclude women and girls
from many aspects of social and cultural life, these myths have no scientific
explanation.

So, it has been observed that state controls the major control over any
kind of steps taken in the direction to spread awareness for such stigma, having
said that most of the organizations aspires to advertise their products, often
distributes the people in the name of awareness campaign. Hence, capitalism
here too plays its part. However, one can’t deny the fact that these promotions
of products has its own benefits for the people.

On concluding notes, Menstruation is the natural part of the reproductive

cycle which indicates onset of puberty, and has nothing do with the myths and
taboo that society has created and it should be treated as normally as any other
natural phenomenon.
Group ​No. 9
Members :
150050066 MOPARTHI SAI SANDEEP
150100063 KAPIL KUMAR MEENA
150050036 UTKARSH KUMAR MAHAWAR
160020053 ABHISHEK SINGHAL

Topic ​: ​Sociology of economic and social life of workers.

Target group :​ Contractual Workers in mess, canteens

Introduction :
We have interviewed three of our mess workers, a canteen worker
and our mess manager. In general, we investigate the reasons how and
why people decided to enter Mess work for the first time, why they remain,
and the relationships between the employment and the workers’ status,
feelings, decisions, goals, and conventional as well as unconventional
behaviors. We address how and why the organizational, structural, and
interpersonal features of mess work shape the lives of the employees.
Virtually almost all of the workers we interviewed were migrant
labourers. All of them were male. Most of them left their families as
teenagers and came alone or with a relative to Mumbai .The hostel workers
have left their homes in search of work due to the socio
economic deprivations they faced in their native places. We discuss
which identities and behaviors the workers consider appropriate to maintain
positive self-concepts and the self-reported ramifications of those deemed
inappropriate. This way we got views of different people from different
economic and social status.
We were mainly interested in a qualitative rather than quantitative
understanding of the situation. All of them were having different opinion
about life ,their work and society . Since we interview people from different
level of hierarchy of the same mess we got to know more about their lives
from different perspectives .
Though it was not easy for us to take the interview sometime we are
not sure about how we should ask them some questions .We take care that
our questions should not hurt them in any way. When we went and asked
one worker for his interview he felt afraid about giving his interview but
when we explain him about our project then he become ready for the
interview and told us very politely about himself.

Workers Socio-economic Condition :

Almost all the people we have interviewed were from different regions
of the country and were not well educated. Their families belonged to a
rural background and were economically backward, hence their education
was not done properly. Lack of education can be a major source of
deprivation. However, education does not necessarily guarantee job
security. So they started working in cities in hopes of earning more money
than in their respective villages. Though they prefer working in their
hometown, as Mumbai is very crowded and competitive city. They have to
struggle hard to survive in Mumbai. But higher income binds them here. We
asked them why they are working inside IIT ,why not in rest of Bombay.
They told us that though income inside IIT is less than what they will get
outside the institute. But inside institute their job is more secure and less
are away from the rush of the city. Another major reason is that they get a
place inside IIT for staying which is otherwise very costly outside institute.
A worker’s age and number of years of service should be the most
important factors for determining wages and service entitlements. But we
have found that even aged people who have been working in the hostels
for many years may not be getting better salaries or entitlements than
young boys who have been working for less than one year.
They started working at an early age of around 15-16 years. They all
send money back home. We asked one of the if he is married or not. He
replied that in their field of canteen their job is not secured and the working
hours and timing is not fixed so they cannot think about marriage as they
will not be able to handle it.
Compared to the other workers we interviewed, the mess manager is
the odd one out, he has much previous experience in this work and also
worked in many countries at well known hotels but still he chose to work as
a mess manager here in IITB for lesser salary than what he was offered in
other reputed places. He stayed in this position because of his sense of
comfort here and working in a place with students was a new experience
for him. He is well settled and doesn’t have any economical problems.
We found that the workers have very low awareness and they don’t
have basic knowledge. This is despite the fact that many of them have
completed their education up to at least 8th standard. We wonder what is
the use of an education that does not even include basic knowledge.

Working Conditions :
Almost all the workers work for around 8-9 hours a day. They don’t
feel that their work is very high or tiresome. They do work in shifts.
Regarding the hierarchy in the workplace, the canteen doesn’t have a
many levels owing to lower number of people working there. On the other
hand the mess is highly organised and tasks are divided to work efficiently.
There is a mess manager under whom there are three supervisors, Then
there is a main cook and an assistant cook, the helpers, the service staff
and the cleaning staff. The hygiene of the workplace is also well
maintained.
The working hours for the mess manager are less than the normal
workers but he stays in the mess even after his working hours and
observes the work and helps out if necessary. There doesn’t seem to be
any exploitation among the workers. The mess manager is quite attached
to the people working under him and takes them along with him to events
sometimes. Working here in the mess for students is quite a new
experience for the mess manager, he has high experience in working in
hotel chains. He learned many things about the eating choices of students
and their expectations of the food.
Regarding their future plans, most of the normal workers don’t have
any expectations of getting a better job. Whereas the mess manager is
hoping to open a restaurant of his own in the future and also to start an
agency for people searching for hotel related jobs.
This difference in views can be attributed to the difference in
knowledge of the field and also their social status.This difference is also
reflected in their salary. Mess workers salary is very much less in
comparison to the mess managers salary.

Leisure Outside Work :

All the workers get enough leisure time. Usually they spend it by
chatting to one another. Usually they talk on many topics but politics and
sports are common. Sometimes, mess manager joins them and share his
views too. Almost all of them have smart phone and access to free IITB
internet, they spend their time by watching movies or listening and singing
music. Some use to talk to their families living far away from Mumbai. One
of the worker use to go to another job and try to earn more money for his
family.
Workers frequently organises inter-hostel cricket league or other
sports leagues. Workers from different hostels participate in it and
represent their hostels. Usually all workers like to participate in it. Almost all
the people we have interviewed, showed excitement towards these games.
Even mess manager was excited about these game. He told us that he
himself takes part in the leagues with his team of workers. This increases
the bonding between him and his workers.

Religion :
 Almost all the workers and mess manager are religious. They follow
their religious rituals, they are believers. One of the workers whom we
interviewed was an atheist and was saying that
“God doesn’t give us anything just by praying to him, we have to get
the things that we need using our own hard work”
and hence he doesn’t believe in god, religious stuff. But when it
comes to celebrating festivals, they celebrate each and every festival with
harmony and unity( even the ones who don’t believe in religion because
this provides some sort of refreshment from their regular work), irrespective
of their religion. We asked them that do they feel bad for being so far from
their family at the time festivals, one of them replied that they feel bad but
all other workers are like their family. They eat together, they live together,
they work together and celebrate all the festivals like family. All the workers
believes in their respective gods. All the workers agreed that people should
follow his or her religion (ideas regarding religion).They told us that there is
no inequality on the basis of religion in mess or canteen .Workers from all
religions work there .For for fun they celebrate the festivals of all the
religions and like eating food workers house during their respective
religions.
But the mess manager had different thoughts, in spite of being born
in a family of priests he believed that religion should not be distinguished
and all religions should be treated equally without having bias towards a
specific religion just because we are born in it and people should live
together with peace in their mind. Though he doesn’t judge the teachings
given to him by his parents, he follow them with his heart and believed in all
religions (He wouldn’t mind in participating in rituals of other religions).
When we asked him if religion should exist or not.He said that in modern
society there should not be anything like religion because in today’s world
of science there should not be anything without reason. He said he enjoy
festivals of all religion with his worker and friends . He said he goes to his
muslim friends house to eat biryani . He said that he consider all religions
equal though he follow his own religion. But he goes to religious places of
all the religions
Membership :
​ Based on our interaction with workers, We felt like they all are a big
happy family. There is friendship and kinship between them. Everyone is
ready to help each other. The relationship between workers and mess
manager was less on professional side and more on friendly side.
Mess manager said few but crucial words on relationship like
“A relationship that is built on trust and understanding can make the
workers and the manager more efficient but a poor relationship that lacks
cohesiveness will dampen productivity and quality”
We noticed that all the workers have same thoughts on topics like
politics, religion and culture. Any Political or religion or cultural decision
taken by government or higher individuals affect workers in a same way.
hence, This causes collective effervescence which excites individuals and
force them to unify the group. Mess manager thinks that this is one of the
essential factor that helps him to keep his team of workers unified.Though
most of the workers are from different part of the country but they always
find some common topics to discuss and always have some common topic
to discuss .

Solidarity ​:
Meaning of solidarity is : “A union of interests, purposes, or
sympathies among members of a group; fellowship of responsibilities and
interests”.
The workers that are working in the mess or canteen have solidarity
between them.They have common purposes and responsibility. All the
worker in mess or canteen have same purpose that they want to provide
good food and good food experience for student. There are also solidarity
between mess worker and student also.
Mechanical solidarity is the social integration of members of a society
who have common values and beliefs. These common values and beliefs
constitute a “collective conscience”.
 Organic solidarity is social unity based on a division of labor that
results in people depending on each other; it contrasts with mechanical
solidarity.
Solidarity between all the mess worker or all the canteen worker is
Organic solidarity. Because all the people that are working in the mess
don’t have common values and beliefs. Almost everybody that’s working
have different religion and caste. All the worker in mess depend on each
other on the basis of work.They are connected to each other because they
are working in same mess rather than for having same caste or religion or
some common values.
Solidarity between mess worker and student also is organic solidarity,
because we(students) also depend on the mess and canteen workers for
our daily requirements of food.
Some of the worker are parts of some caste association or religious
association. All the member who are parts of this association have same
common values and belief. The members of such associations have
mechanical solidarity between them.

Social status :
All the mess workers and canteen workers almost have same social
status. Some of them said that “good social status is required for a better
life.Good social status is directly related to good economically background
and social status may affect educational life also. If any person has good
social status then he/she can get good education without any additional
effort for obtaining it and this will affect his further life because most of the
opportunities in life depend on your education. We don’t have good social
status and a good economic background so we don’t get good education
so we started working in the age of 16. Since they aren’t well educated and
don’t any specific skills, they don’t have much expectations of their social
status improving in the future. They are think that people care about their
‘prestige’ or the ‘respect’ that they are accorded by individuals with whom
they interact. Most of the workers didn’t get married till now due to his
social status and low economically condition.
Mess manager said on social status that social status is obtained
through individual attributes or actions. One should also distinguish
between status that is acquired through specific actions or group affiliation
and status that has been inherited. People may have social status simply
by being born into an aristocratic class. Social should be individual.
education combined with social class can create inequalities for children.
Education is a significant institution in our society as it serves to fulfil many
functions and provide opportunities for children. One important role that
education plays is carrying out the process of secondary socialization
where the education system teaches children the norms and values of
society in a way that the family cannot. Education performs certain
functions such as providing children with skills needed for work, learning
about religious and moral beliefs, national languages and also about the
history of the nation. Therefore it can be seen that education performs an
important role in children's lives by socializing them into the future
members of society and teaching them about the values of success and
achievement which enables them to be open to many opportunities in
society.
They are fine with transgressing social status for love and
marriage.They said that if both girl and boy don’t have any problem then all
others should not have any problems because Life is to spend both of them
together.

Conclusion :
Based on our interaction with Contractual Workers and their manager
we concluded that though life is difficult for these class of society but they
live it with joy and happiness, and with the hope of better life ahead …..

Our Observations on :
 Solidarity​:
The dependence that we observe in between the mess workers
emphasises that organic solidarity is created with division of labour and
with different people having different specializations and the
interdependence of these abilities to be able to create a complete final
product brings about this requirement for organic solidarity between these
individuals.

Social Status:
We generally observe that people find it difficult to interact with
others whom they treat as belonging to a higher class or of having higher
social status than themselves. The the workers feel free to interact and
share their thoughts. This can be partly attributed to all of them having
similar social and economical status.
Big question comes out during this activity is that Social status should
be individual or not? How do we measure social status? Because social
status makes inequality in society. Some of us get this from our parent and
it makes a big difference in society.

Collective Effervescence:
We observe that generally all workers belongs to same class of
society. They face similar kind of problems. These problems may arise due
to political, religious or cultural decision made by people belonging to the
higher class society. It encourages inequality among the workers. This
forces them to get unified into groups. Within a group they have similar
thinking and agendas. All the workers along with their manager shows to
have a collective effervescence. They form association or union to raise
voices against such decision. It may turn into conflict.

Religion:
 We concluded that most of the people we interviewed believed
in religion .We figured out that religion has different meanings and different
values . Though as we say that the approach of every religion can be
different but the essence of all religion is one. All these contractual workers
showed us the same spirit, which can be easily seen in their actions.

Unequal opportunities for women Unequal opportunity:

We also note that there are no female mess/canteen workers.
Is this not a bias on the part of the employers? Certainly women are as
able as men to work as cooks and kitchen workers. If the workers were
paid legal salaries and given at least the minimum legally allowed benefits
and accommodations, surely both men and women would not mind taking
up such work. By continuing to employ people in these substandard terms,
inequality on the basis of sex is perpetuated. It is because women workers
are not provided with adequate living conditions that they are not able to
migrate in search of employment, as their brother are. And because women
cannot earn as well as men, sons are preferred over daughters, and many
injustices, even including sex-selection, female infanticide, and dowry are
practiced.