I
remember boys were asked to skip one particular biology class in
class 8th. Our lady teacher addressed us girls and
hurriedly finished off the chapter. So what is this scandalous thing
that we learnt that day or did not learn because it was drowned in
unfamiliar scientific terminology?
It was a chapter on male and
female reproductive organs. Some things which stuck then are,
-
After starting my period I can/might become pregnant (the process of
how was not registered properly; in post class giggle session, some
girls said by kissing, some said it will definitely happen if we eat
leftover food of boys/men and so on, )
-
Before starting my period my egg is sitting and waiting for the
sperm. When that does not happen it starts to disintegrate in a
bloody way (tantrum thrown by the angry egg!)
-
Men's reproductive organ – the pictures made us giggle and the
teacher nervous
-
pregnancy is a fantastic thing which ends with a baby's birth –
placenta is there for feeding and so on. As an aside, we wondered
about baby's crap and where it goes. Some of us imagined baby crap
floating in the stomach and wondered whether that is the reason for
preganant bellies.
Any
way since I had liberal and progressive upbringing at home, I knew
that night itself very clearly what happens, how it happens and why.
I shared that with other girls next day and what happened next is another story.
I heard even today
the situation is not exactly different when young women from M.P or
girls from Karnataka cities, towns or villages share their
experiences.
Why
the hell do people go on saying that a female egg does everything
else hurriedly so that it can come and sit in a place waiting for
the warrior sperm to come see it? Doesnt it parallel the story of
Ramayan?
Pardon the caricatured narration of it though: Sita after
being born just to marry Rama is found in a box (Ovum) and she is
reared by Janaka to be an up righteous young princess and she waits
for Rama to win her hand ..... once that happens, in the second round she
waits for Rama to rescue her from Ravana ...... in the third round she
waits for Rama to clear her name...... in the round next she waits for
Rama to own her offspring and so on.
As
long as Sita (in a one dimensioned list of notable moral values way) is the role model for an
ideal woman, this take on menstruation will go on.
