Is Contraception a Culture in Indian Hindu Women? - The Unheard Voice of A Christian Woman

Well, yes, in the Western Countries and for those who are aiming to mingle with "Caucasians" or the West, this is the new trend in India among Indian women probably that to demonstrate that they are forward and modern, taking a pill presumptuously allows them to pop the pill. And, it is no longer going to be presumptuous for the Government of India has plans to make the pill, OTC, that is it can be brought without a prescription.

So, what is this hullabaloo about menstruation or periods which is much more a common word known to many? But before talking about the "taboos", I should acknowledge that I am aware of Christianity more and I cannot talk about Hinduism. This is the reason why I never argued but only asked about provoking me. We never discuss with friends periods as a social issue for it is a personal choice to oblige to the rituals or not and those who are in need can fight.

I have my own cause when it comes to periods and women and I think that is much more righteous than vain arguments over one abiding to their own rituals or not. My cause is to root out the evils and rights of a women to provide care for her body and embrace her biological creation that she can stay fit and healthy. While I was never willing to stand for or engage in dialogue over rituals and habits of a religion and its practices that I am not aware. I share respect to these practices when people have invited me telling them that I may deny if I am having my periods when I was reciprocated with dignity and respect allowing me or sharing understanding if they want to abide to their cultural practices. No one has ever wanted my companionship by force or as a psychopath wanting to use the pill that my presence will be acceptable until 2014 when the Hindu aggression started against me.

Now, what are the taboos that I find listed in the blog, Unearthing Menstrual Wisdom:

• Not attending religious functions, visiting the temple and not touching menstruating women
• Avoiding cooking and eating with others during menstruation
• Avoiding sex during menstruation
• Avoid swimming or washing the hair during menstruation
• Avoid eating certain types of food during menstruation
• Believing that menstrual blood is impure
• Taking time off during menstruation
• Restricting menstruating women to seclusion huts
• Menstrual cycle regulated by moon cycle

Well, they have this list of reasons as to why they should forgo doing things during menstruation. But our women who want to demythify and overcome the taboos are more forward-minded has resulted in outrageous new practices into the system. 

One such practice is the use of "pills" for just skipping the hassles that in a modern accommodation that a period can cause unauspicion and emotions runs high. The pill can pre- or postpone the period days. A temporary solution to miss being the center of attraction, avoid embarrassment of being told to everyone attending a function or the religious event, safety of not being left out when family is away to the temple, enjoy all the good food, and above all how can one miss all the fun, especially when one is a party animal and temples or festivals or occasions when I had to be secluded for the cause of periods is missing a party! That drives some of these extrovert party beasts in women!

Well, what Christianity has to do with all these culture and practices? Now, the problem is, are these Hindu practices or are they Indian practices? Have you decided to answer this question? If Indian then ask me whether I am abiding to or expect me to discuss about the need to use the pills on those days, such as Pongal or wedding or such Hindu occasions? I have never seen a Hindu home inviting me for their wedding telling me not to come if you have periods. Then most of the relatives will not be turning up, probably. Will this be possible to find the wedding date for a Hindu wedding only when all the women are having their cycles synchronised? Are they practising in this manner? Well, that is not the case even within a family, even in a orthodox brahmin family. But, on what basis that some so-called "orthodox brahmins" have stirred this discussion of the "need to use the pills" that the Christian neighbours in the suburbs should use the pill. 

Even worse is "the pill" turning into a discussion provoking at a Christian women for Hinduism culture and at workplace. Is it not stirring religious chaos? What is the need that someone has to abide to some cultural practices at work and just one women has to forgo her periods? This raises the important question of the business ethics where the employers are selfishly doping their women employees that they remain as workhorses by stopping not only their biological cycles but also manipulating their biological emotions and requirements. In other words, making women a work robot so that it will not be allowed a social life and spontaneity of nature on its own?

And, there comes the argument back again when they emphasize on Hinduism cultural practices for using the pill. If all the science and such arguments are in place in avoiding women during periods, then what is the whole idea in using the pill to attend it? Is it not gimmicking God and their whole cultural beliefs is in disarray and practising what they are doing for the benefits they say it has makes no meaning or sense? The most important question is: Is the use of pill for abiding to Hindu cultural practices is morally correct? Does it yield the benefit that it has to provide for the women during her cycles? And, is it spiritually correct?

Before, Christianity never forbids me from having my cycles every month unless I have carry my baby. And, I have the discretion to not take the communion if I think that I am not ready to partake in the Holy Communion, but the practices of Old Testament just like the sacrifices in place for salvation is also forgone. My mother usually tells me not to take the Communion often as it will turn into a ritual but only when I am mentally prepared and usually the first two or three days of the periods we will not be prepared to take the Holy Communion. But it did not matter if my sister was being married or my nephew being christened and confirmed. The Lord is not going to deny me salvation or postpone my resurrection to heaven if I have died bleeding or on a bleeding day. He is still going to accept me.

With my beliefs in tact, why should I be troubled over the pill? Having brought up in a culture that allows me to run and play and disregard the concept of virginity over a hymen tissue way before October, 2018 when WHO and UN Women declared and banned virginity test making us as pioneers for not abiding to these practices, sounds like a backlash to this ban and an outrage as moral policing and public disgracing culture.

In the end, if taking the pill turning into Hindu Culture and Belief, let it be! Why bother me, I am Christian, thank you! I prefer having my cycles! And I do not want to participate in your parties.

Why Hindu Women Do Not Remove Bindi or Sindoor or Pottu?

Indian Hindu Women with a Bindi

Bindi in Hindi or Pottu in Tamil, is unanimously a cultural practice of using a dot placed on the midpoint between the two eyebrows on the forehead by the Hindu women. Well, it is fascinating to talk of it as a culture of Hindu women but I have observed that men also have this practice but has been forgone this practice to modernisation. Hindu men, particularly the kings, nobles, and the brahmins have the habit of using bindi just like women. Now, bindi and its counterpart, Sindoor, has remained as a symbolism of Hindu women and their marital status. Sindoor, the counterpart of Bindi are used by married women on the top midpoint of their forehead as a dot or a long line.

A short research about what is the significance of Bindi according to Hindu science tells me that the Bindi point is considered as the third eye that keeps the bad luck away. This is also considered as the energy center of the body as it is the point of the sixth chakra in the body called Ajna Chakra that is responsible for concealed wisdom or enlightening point. This is the point where meditation will bring together concentration and focused energy to reveal the latent energy and wisdom.

Hindu Indian women, and so Hindus from other countries also use Bindi. They use it not only as a cultural and religious representation but according to their social norms and beliefs to wear it as a symbol of success, life, and prosperity. Though modern days, Bindi takes many forms and shapes, Bindi colours has its own significance and social representation. 

Red Bindi made with kumkum is used to indicate that they are married and as a ritual for gaining the blessings of Gods and Goddess for protecting their husbands. This is considered as a symbol of sacrifice that women are willing to do for their husbands. 

Black Bindi is made from kajal is worn on occasions when there is a loss and death in the family.

No bindi on a Hindu women indicates that their husband is dead and have become widows.

Colorful Bindis are worn by young and unmarried women to share their mood and emotions. 

Chandan or Sandal Bindi is worn along with other colours in some ethnic groups of Indian women to showcase their respect and to release their inner energy effectively.

What is more religious about bindi is that it helps to identify a Hindu women irrespective of her caste and creed and does not hinder their devotion to Gods and Goddess and duty towards their husbands. This is their social norms and beliefs. In short, as to how Times of India called it, I think that it is nice to tag, bindi as a "cultural flag" for Hindu women.

The Hindu Science claims that bindi point and the use of bindi on this point, called Ajna Chakra affects the pituitary, pineal, head, eyes, and brain by radiating energy by acting as an acupressure point permeating permanently energy by the press of the bindi. Thus, it is thought to help in relieving migraines and headaches. It is also believed that using Bindi will help to keep their skin soft and supple. And, the stimulation of nerves by this acupressure at this point stimulates the cochlear nerves making the quality of hearing better. Moreover, it is also believed to help in regulating the sleep hormone, melatonin by promoting its activity, and one of the feel-good or happy hormones, serotonin.

The counterpart of Bindi is Sindoor is the use of the kumkum or vermilion on their forehead at the midpoint of hair partition indicating that they are married and to mark his presence in her life until his death. This practice seems to have been started with Harappan civilisation so that other men will be in peace with her husband by not persuading her that her husband will be provoked. But according to Hindu religion and faith, the social norm continues because of the belief that Goddess Sita wore this on her forehead in the form of a flame to please her husband, Lord Rama, and for whom she even fell into the flames to prove her chastity for the time spent in Lord Ravana's forests at Lanka. Besides, it is also said that the use of Sindoor and the chemicals in sindoor, drives sexual desire in women for the acupressure point stimulate more blood flow.

When I read the story of Ms Deepti Sharma on Teen Vogue, October 30, 2018, where she was able to boldly express herself freely about being bullied and nagged by her friends, her words, "Growing up, there was a hurtful song that kids in my school would sing to tease me: “I have a dot on my head, and the color is red. I’m a hindu.” I hated that song. As an Indian kid living in America, I went through all of the phases of rejecting, accepting, and ultimately embracing my culture. But a few years ago, I made a decision that makes me even more visibly Indian: I decided to wear a bindi every single day," resonated inside my head many times making me to scoff at them grumbling and lamenting despite "having" when even a Christian women of my social background and mental make cannot voice like her. She may say that I was able to write this blog, but the suffering that I had to go through just to write this blog is heinous, and I don't anticipate less when I have it published. And, when they have targeted and start persecuting, should one not be polite and system-thinking but can save themselves only if they have an activist background or a "vulnerable" social background other than economic vulnerability. This is because the way political system is driving the society in directions towards their convictions.

Well, I am quite indifferent to the use of Bindi and it has never fascinated me except when my sister was fascinated over its use with her friends and for her studies that I used to share my choices, and also for my friends may be. This is the fact, despite me being a dancer when I was a kid, when I used to hate having to keep the bindi on my forehead all of a sudden and being asked to keep my hands still even if I sweat to not spoil the decorations they have done to my face. I used to think in those days and tell my mother about having to grow up and dance without wearing one if I perform in front of the Christian community. Well, life has its own turns and I never pursued it for dance was nothing but a hobby at that age.

Now, all these surfaces back when they started persecuting me all of a sudden following one of their other persecution for being a Christian that started aggressively since mid-2007 attacking me when I was in Australia. Now, this persecution started to resurface again physically and in public since 2013 that with every year it started to turn more aggressive. By 2021, even watching online services was targeted which was only a grumble in 2020 during COVID-19 that they use some sort of technology harassing and distracting me from watching the services. But this did not stop with that. From February 2022 onwards they are harassing me for not using a Bindi that I wrote the blog to pent out the annoyance, introspecting what could have been the reason as to why Indian women shunned easily from the tradition of not wearing Bindis: https://inalia.blogspot.com/2022/02/why-78-indian-christians-do-not-wear.html.

Now, I write again following their outrage scarring my forehead during the Holy Week with a shot at my forehead that it caused a red scar like a radiodermatitis. 

This time I thought a little differently. Why the Hindu women do not remove the Bindi and Sindoor? If I know that reason, then I will understand why some of the Hindu Indian women have made it as their own discretion and decision to patronise or not to patronise the use and value of Bindi. 

Some use "bindi" as a political agenda to empower themselves by making a hue and cry that they are ostracised in the society when it comes to opportunities at employment for these symbols, as if Indian Christian and Muslim women are offered a "quid-pro-quo favour", when the major shame is attributed to Christian women who do not have to use any such symbols whereas the Muslim women at the least have the need to use symbols such as a scarf. These kind of hue and cry has in fact, well take my case for example, has stirred ostracisation against Indian Christians, especially those who have a background like me. Let's not delve into other influencing factors.

While this is the issue of the women at one side of the coin, the other side of the coin, I do not deny that Indian Hindu women wanting not to adhere to these social norms and beliefs are hurt and harassed for shunning their social norms and religious practices. But at the same time, some of these Hindu women are patronised as Goddess and are privileged with pampering that instead of hurting and harassing them, people in their society with convictions towards their social norms and beliefs, frustrated over asking them not to shun their culture, religion, and beliefs, pent out their vindication at Christian women who work with them and are known to them. This is because blaming us for them adopting new cultural trends and shunning such practices are their cultural and personal habits.

Lastly, I am not a great fan of Bindi! And, I am not interested in discussing this topic at all! It has never been part of our family culture since time immemorial, maybe for centuries in my family that women have never used Bindi because they all have been Christians for generations. Now, why don't they just ask me at my face than persecuting me. 

Well, I am open for a dialogue just to stop them, and they gave a very clear signal by failing to turn up in the court for one of my cases on Christian persecution over drugs used in Hinduism for rituals (sastram, as to how they say so), that all they wanted to keep continuing doing is persecuting me! And, I remain hear in solitude, unheard to people who wish me well, and only heard to those who understand what they are doing to me but unable to do nothing but only keep faith in the Christian Hope for a support to reach me!