Surprise, surprise, the world where men continuously dominate how women feel about their bodies is still painstakingly prevalent. There is, undoubtedly, a tediously recycled narrative constructed in mainstream media that teaches us how to think about, talk about and treat our bodies and, more importantly, our periods.
After decades of guilt and shame surrounding the taboo discussion of menstruation during Ramadan, Muslim women have taken to social media as a platform to share stories, clap back and reverse the shame-filled menstrual periods they have endured during their cycles in the holy month. After reading these experiences, I found myself non-plussed at the familiar lack of control these stories portrayed, the supposed progressiveness of the twenty-first century for feminism, along with the increasing awareness of every woman’s biological monthly cycle, descending back into mere virtue signaling yet again.
But my disdain manifested itself with the societal ignorance of the matter. Here’s why: Islamic holy texts and scripture specify, to protect the woman’s comfort and body as well as cleanse the impurity of her body during a spiritually clean celebration, that prayer and fasting *must* be paused whilst any woman is menstruating, allowing a fair and equal treatment to all women (“If you are in a state of ceremonial impurity, then purify yourselves… Allah does not wish to place you in difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that you may be grateful.” (Qur’an 5:6)). This lit-er-ally means that the stigma surrounding the breaking of fast and pausing of prayer, along with the guilt it brings, arises from only society’s misogynistic expectation that everyone should be fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and those who don’t are somehow deemed as lesser for it.
Similar to the online trolling culture, many men actively video, comment on, and publicly humiliate the women for eating and drinking during this month; @SiriuslyCold posted a passage from the Quran with a video of a seemingly uncomfortable group of women eating in a fast-food chain. Underneath was written “this is not the way”, in a condescending manner towards the women and shaming them for pausing their fast, despite this being a requirement for them. The stigma of menstruation is often nurtured through years of silence and shame surrounding the discussion in the home, which can then impose itself in society or be reproduced through marriages and generational trauma. Alongside this, the rise in the power of anonymous speech that social media allows, has seen this ignorant behavior grow from the corner of society that polices the Muslim women that eat during their menstrual cycle.
Invite people to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind advice, and debate with them in the most courteous way, for your Lord knows best who strays from His path, and knows best who is rightly guided (16:125)
this is not the way 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/zq717IzQvY
— #1⃣9⃣!!!🇲🇾 (@SiriuslyCold) May 3, 2021
I decided to consult some Muslim women for their perspective on the issue and was greeted with a mix of replies, but all with the same underlying message laced through them. Unwavering respect towards their religion. Women not fasting or praying as a result of their period find ways to connect deeply with their religion through other means, such as, as Ayesha, 23, told me, reading scriptures like the Quran or listening to talks and lectures given by Muslim leaders. These women also resonate with a true belief of the religion: the idea that periods symbolise a gift from Allah, therefore, everyone should cherish them and listen to the message they have received. To that end, the inane correlation between the shame surrounding the menstrual cycle and the Islamic religion has been misconstrued somewhere along the way.
When I spoke with Tasmiah, 20, she told me that the patriarchy many Muslim women live within makes these blurry lines even more indistinguishable. She told me, “the shame around periods stems from the misogynistic cultures that some women come from and they often clash with Islam”, then going on to mention that those living in communities still guided by a traditional patriarchy will often hide their periods out of shame and create other excuses for why they have decided to break their fast. These excuses could include degrading self-willpower, such as “I got tempted by food” or lying about being unwell. Some women fasting as a result of the menstrual cycles cannot protect and defend their right given by Allah to society, and would rather lie about giving into the temptation of eating, something that could ultimately be seen as failing the test given by Allah.
But it’s clear that Muslim women have had enough. Social media and networking platforms today allow for freedom of speech and outrage not available to them in previous generations. The relationship between religion and gender has been one of much debate and tribulation in past decades; men being told, in the Bible as well as the Quran, that the blood of a woman’s menstrual cycle is an “impurity” and women should not be approached whilst they are experiencing it. For this reason, the choice to be outspoken about the underlying guilt of menstruating during Ramadan has not been a free one – misogynistic narratives and voices have shouted over the voices of women for a long time.
As a result, there is no doubt that we owe the digital space for providing a platform that enables the women, who previously were indoctrinated with shame, to normalize a spiritual process without the shame-filled parenthesis. In a world in which women are consistently placed on a separate lane and made to accept the inequalities that are handed to us, networking platforms embody the democratization of experience and stories. These are ultimately inspiring awareness in others to understand, ultimately, why Muslim women aren’t ashamed by periods during Ramadan.
In a nutshell? There is, quite simply, nothing to be ashamed of. The external patriarchal influence on the women trying to practice their religion continues to exist and is very much a real issue most Muslim women survive. However, fortunately, busting the myths that surround periods during Ramadan as a result of the misogynistic actions of society has begun to assume center stage. And we shall not stop. It will continue to assert itself until mainstream narratives and individuals of all backgrounds hold each other accountable for the guilt that these women have felt up until now.
