Daughter’s day is approaching and there is no better way of celebrating this day than empowering our daughters. Kashipur’s Jitendra organized a party for his daughter’s first period and shared the posts on his Facebook account. The celebration was an attempt to send a message that myths and superstitions attached to this topic must be destroyed.
Uttarakhand: Discussions about menstruation still remain forbidden in many households. Young girls, when they experience their first periods learn about all the restrictions that are put on women because of their gender. They are prohibited from entering prayer rooms and are asked not to eat certain food items. In this interesting story, Jitendra Bhatt from Uttarakhand contributed his bit to breaking the myths by celebrating his daughter’s first period.
Making the daughter feel special
Jitendra Bhatt is a resident of Kashipur and works as a music teacher. He lives with a joint family. His wife, Bhawana Sati is also a music teacher. Their daughter Ragini is 13 years old, and she recently went through her first experience of menstruation .
When the family learned about it, they did not ask her to maintain silence about it as if it was something to feel ashamed about. Instead, Ragini’s parents organized a party to make her feel good about her first experience. Relatives, friends and neighbours were invited to the grand party that took place in a party hall. The walls were adorned with balloons and a cake to Ragini’s liking was ordered.
One would wonder, why the need was felt to organize such a grand party for something as normal as a period. But the explanations lie in the fact that menstruation is still not considered a normal body phenomenon. It is still treated as an unacceptable topic of discussion and prohibits women from sharing their personal experiences. The celebration of Ragini’s first period was an attempt to send a message that it is not an illness and rather a very natural part of a woman’s life.
Ordering the cake
Jitendra shares a story that when he was making an order for the cake, the baker looked at him strangely and asked several times for clarifications. White and red colours were chosen for the cake and a request was made to write “Happy Periods Ragini” on the cake. The baker was terribly confused and admitted that “I have never made a cake like this before.”
Reactions on Facebook post
Jitendra posted pictures of the celebration on Facebook with the caption, “My daughter is all grown up now. Happy period, Ragini.” This Facebook post received some really wonderful comments where people wrote “Proud moment” and “A wonderful initiative.”
Party’s attendance
The unwillingness of people to get educated on these topics can be understood from the fact that many of Jitendra’s relatives did not come to attend the party. They felt averted and chose not to come. Jitendra found their absence disappointing, as according to those people this was a matter that should have been kept hidden.
People especially from the older generations, felt revulsed by the celebration. However, Jitendra remained undeterred and did not let it discourage him. He believes that there is a social stigma attached to menstruation and we must work towards obliterating it.
Special gifts for Ragini
There were a lot of people that attended the party willingly and brought gifts for Ragini. And it was unsurprising that all the gifts she received were sanitary pads.
Ragini’s experience
Jitendra and Bhawana are responsible parents. A lot of girls find out about menstruation on their first experience and have no idea about how they must deal with it. On the other hand, Jitendra and his wife started educating Ragini about these topics when she turned 11. Ragini was hesitant and nervous about it, but after learning about all processes and the biological reason behind it, she became confident about herself.
Blessings from grandparents
Since most people avoid having any discussions about it, it was a bit of task for Jitendra to explain the reason to each person he invited to the party. When he informed his parents, they felt a little uncomfortable but did not feel hesitant to attend the party. They were happy for Ragini and gave her their blessings.
Planning the party
It is not hidden from anyone that the shopkeepers wrap sanitary pads in newspapers and black polythene when selling them. Jitendra was aware of the fact too and wanted to break the myth and shame attached to it. He had made the promise to himself years ago, that he will organize a party on Ragini’s first period.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.