Menopause could be a topic of fear and embarrassment for many women throughout the world but in medical term it is labeled as the end of menstruation which means that women, no longer be able to bear a child. Menopause could be a painful phenomenon for many women but physiological effects are more painful because in many cultures it has been viewed as a negative event. For an example, Menopause has been perceived in the United States as a difficult time for women, during which they experience uncontrollable moodiness, irritability, and depression ( Alexander et. Al, 2010) In Nepal, menopause is seen as a positive natural phenomenon. When Women and girls are having their regular menstrual cycles, they are not allowed to enter temples (a place where Hindu people go to worship) because it is seen as a sin to allow women to the temples when they are having menstrual cycles. Women are not allowed to cook or enter to the kitchen when they are having menstrual cycles. So, when menstruation stops or menopause starts, women feel themselves very delighted because many social restrictions they are facing no longer will be able to bother them. They are also given more respect as this phenomena is seen as gateway to an elderly life. In some of the Nepalese tribes, menopause is celebrated like other common festivals and it is believed that women have now gained a state of purity. In rural Nepal, some tribes force women to stay outside the home during the 4-5 days of menstrual period because they think it’s against the god’s will to allow them to enter the home. This cultural practice could be found in many educated families too. So, In Nepal’s context menopause is something related with the freedom of negative cultural practices. So, women will definitely be able to overcome this cultural burden once they go through this cycle regardless of physical pain they go through.
Works Cited:
Alexander et al. (2010). New dimensions in women’s health. 5th ed. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
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Mr. Shisheer,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on cultural perspectives relating to menopause.
I was quite surprised to read about how girls and women in Nepal are restricted from religious and domestic activities during their menstrual cycles. It was surprising to me that there is so much of a cultural view regarding this normal, physical part of being female. I can see why women would feel delighted at the onset of menopause, especially if they are viewed with higher respect because of reaching this milestone in their lives when the "cultural burdens" are lifted.
Thanks again for sharing your views with
us ... interesting reading.
Carol Martin
cmartin18@twu.edu
Dear Carol,
ReplyDeleteI am very pleased to share my own cultural perspectives with you guys related to health topics. Thank you for your opinions.
Mr. Shisheer,
ReplyDeleteYour post introduced me to new information, thank you. As I try and approach this topic with cultural relativism, I still find it very difficult to fully understand. I guess the first question that comes to mind is how do they [the people who do not allow women to enter the worshiping temples, kitchen, etc.] know that a girl or woman is menstruating? Is this matter not personal and private in Nepal?
My only explanation to this is that perhaps religion is the leading role in such practices, meaning, devoted faith is what keeps these women and young girls to be in agreement with such practices. Refraining themselves from attending worshiping sites or entering a kitchen?
Monica L.