Breaking the shackles

Before i start this post, let me put a disclaimer to all the guys out there (not like a thousand guys are gonna read this, but still!!! ). This may not be a post all of you are comfortable reading. It requires you to have made your peace with all the "facts of life", so read on if you have the stomach for it!

A few days ago, i found myself reading an interesting article in the Hindu (somehow reading tht paper makes me feel much less dumb..its nice!!!hehe) about this man who had taken up the task of devising an easy and cheap method of manufacturing sanitary napkins for women!!(http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article2875390.ece?homepage=true) While he was motivated by the poor and unhygienic methods used by his own wife during her periods, his efforts to figure out a better alternative were actually met with a lot of disgust and disapproval by his family! While he has now gone on to establish his initiative in many states across the country, it amazed me that the women in his life were the ones that supported him the least!!Is this topic really so taboo that they;d rather not talk about it than have a healthier option for their own good??!

I for one found myself amazed by tht guy's sensitivity. Most guys are either completely unaware of this whole concept, willfully ignore it or think its just one more excuse used by girls to get their way!!! A majority don't have a single clue what girls actually go through during their cycle, let alone the pitfalls that come with it be it pain or body ache or weakness!!! I once had a debate with my close friends about this...cursing all guys for being so dense and so awkward about this whole issue. It used to irk me that when girls used to go home half-day coz of their periods, u'd have guys irritating u like hell, demanding to know what happened to her and absolutely not taking the hint when u say she's not well or something!!!More often than not, unless a guy lives in a home with a significant number of women, they can go thru their whole adolescence not having a clue what a menstrual cycle actually is!! Having a girlfriend can be a real eye opener for guys that way!!!hehe. Seriously, if guys could just be a little more sensible and sensitive about the whole issue then our lives would be so much easier!!!

But then my friend came up with a very valid point....why should girls expect guys to have this divine understanding of whats going on?? Why should they have to guess at the real reason their friends are going home early? Whats stopping us girls from telling them the straight up that the xyz girl is just having menstrual cramps or whatever?!! If we being girls, for whom monthly periods are a fact of life, can feel awkward about bringing up this topic then why should we even expect guys to be comfortable with this? Though i may consider myself modern, maybe there isn't tht much difference between me and the scores of other women who are just as bound by senseless traditions! i may not go into isolation or anything, but i'd still think twice before going to religious place/function during my cycle.....knowing full well that my sentiments and my physical state have absolutely no connection! Those rules were made for a reason....my mom's take on it is, that considering the amount of physical labor women in earlier days had to do, periods were a time of the month when they were legitimately asked to rest and take a break from work. When that got twisted out of control i have no clue....but it still doesn't justify our blind acceptance of it!

Well, if a man can break the shackles of society, and make a difference....maybe there's hope for the rest of us yet!!! Amen to that!!!