Written by: Kajal Bastakoti - 21108, Grade XII
Posted on: 19 July, 2020
Do you still bow to your book when you accidentally kick it? I guess we all do. So do I. But what is this? Respect ? or just a taboo? Actually it's a taboo but we don't see any harm here. Right? Now, these words of mine might have got you a bit anxious considering our culture as a taboo, but I have a question.
What about menstruation, we all know that it is still considered as a taboo practicing at your own house. Are you, your sister or your mom allowed to celebrate whatever the festival is when you got stuck with Period? The one festival that you've waited for so long for all of your brothers, sisters, and cousins to get together and enjoy and suddenly you get kicked out of it because of you getting your period?. That's absolutely natural and you didn't even ask for it. Of course, you don't want to suffer from this natural phenomenon, you even don't like it but it loves to visit you always like your annoying bestie. (AKA period cramps).
Being sarcastic, I am here portraying the exact scenario of how all the ladies think/suffer at a certain moment of menstruation. Heading back to taboos, Let me define a taboo in simple words. It's all your thoughts and beliefs and you are the one who is preserving what someone just passed over some religion or so-called “culture”. Come on, How can we add something that causes a lot of people to suffer as a precious thing to us, in our culture.?
Let's come to “Racism”, it is also a taboo in my perspective. Which even prevails among us even after those 9 years of studies in high school, and your textbook didn't even have the word “Racism” and it only said discrimination on the basis of race. The consequences of this discrimination don't only remain within color rather it goes beyond leading to mental threat, sexual abuse, and even DEATH! Ever called your friend black? You might be joking but to that friend it might have not been a joke.
Just like that “body shaming” is also one of the discriminations on the basis of the physical appearance of someone. We have created certain criteria to be loved and thus representing that as “perfection”. You say that you support “LGBTQ” right? Then why do you humiliate your friend with the word “gay/lesbian”? Now that friend of yours has already taken the word as humiliation no matter how he/she had the feeling towards LGBTQ before. The relationship might not change but it really will hit hard in a negative way.
It is okay to be whoever you want and you have your own decisions and choices over yourselves don't let the others decide it for you.
Racism is deeply engraved within us but in different ways thus making life lots of people around. They are not only dying physically but mentally as well. There have been many suicide and murder cases here in Nepal, there are numerous reasons and racism is also one of them. It hasn't been long since slavery, especially termed as The Kamaiya System ended officially in Nepal (2000 A.D) and other lots of discriminating systems. If that hadn't happened I don't think that we would have been here at DEER WALK studying. But still, slavery exists in different other forms, like child marriage, polygamy, and so on. So, to sum up, Taboos aren't going to just disappear magically, it needs our effort. Why don't we start individually from our home?
These do not prevail only in society. “It prevails within you, Then goes to the society, becomes a culture and finally a TABOO”. So it's time for us to be responsible.
(This article is not against culture, but I don't think that pain and chaos is the definition for culture, Do you?)
