Cross sectional survey study on prevalence of menstrual taboos among young girls in Anand district of Gujarat

Summary of article contents:

Menstruation is a complex phenomenon in women’s life since it is related to many areas such as biology, psychology, society and religion. The average woman will menstruate almost a quarter of her fertile life, yet there are many religions which, to this day, hold primitive ideas and beliefs regarding this common phenomenon. The debate of which has been of importance since Sabrimala temple incidence. Taboos are intense prohibitions of certain acts and it is unacceptable to the society. It is believed that if the taboo is not followed it will result to harm to person as well as the community. Menstrual taboos are prevalent all over the world in different forms. Objectives:  To study about observance and non-observance of menstrual restrictions among young girls and reasons behind following restrictions. Materials and Methods: A survey of about 798 young girls between the age group of 16-25 years of urban, rural and hostel areas of Anand district, Gujarat was conducted with closed ended questionnaire related to menstrual taboos. Results: 380 girls (47.62%) avoided visiting temple during menstruation and 332 out of 798 (41.60%) were prohibited from religious activities. 44.53% girls (301) followed restrictions because of religion and others i.e. 39.50% (267) girls mentioned their culture as a reason for observing the restrictions. Conclusion: Young girls follow restrictions related to religious activities only.