India is becoming more advanced day by day. We are having an advanced lifestyle and Indians are westernising, be it clothing, be it food habits, be it beliefs. Except for only that one thing.
Yes, you all got that right, "Kaali Panni". Just to say, we Indians are not gendered biased, but still carrying pads or any menstrual product openly is still seen with wide eyes and open mouths.
We are still thriving in a country where buying, cigarettes, openly aren't given much attention to what buying any menstrual product without "Kaali Panni" is. Still, we proudly claim that Mera Bharat Mahaan.
To ask, what type of Mahanta is it, where a necessary commodity, is purchased covered with a newspaper or kaali panni.
It is very toxic behaviour and a practice that is normalised by Indians of either covering everything in the newspaper or with black plastic polythene. So according to the people, a woman or a girl carrying pads should cover them so that they are not visible to the public.
A girl walking down the lane having pads in her hands uncovered is considered shameful because she is not covering it.
The biggest irony is that buying cigarettes is not viewed the same way. Apart from all this, it is our female members who without giving a thought to it, inculcate this foolish practice to her daughters, and when questioned, it is answered with a sharp rebuke.
It is high time we realise, that being modern is not about just wearing Gucci, Armani, Prada or brands like that. Being a modern lady doesn't just mean roaming in any Indian street with mini skirts or shorts or other westernised clothing style.
What being broad-minded exactly is to be able to be that wannabe rebel in a patriarchal society that normalises a highly toxic behaviour. Wearing like a foreigner is like a cakewalk and anyone can do it, but standing up different in the whole crowd and doing something we wish could be normal is a total diverse thing. This doesn't mean I am opposing it, but just that you can't be called "Broad Minded" with one of those privileges.
Though nowadays, almost every college girl or even teenager can be seen clad in modern clothing, on asking if they have the guts to buy pads without the black polyethene, the instant answer with a frown face and an embarrassing face would be "No".
Therefore we must not equalise being modern to what our clothing style is or what our food habits are, or even if we are allowed for late-night parties or not because all this is kind of a show-off in my words that we do to show how much liberal we are.
The thing that really matters is that if we can carry out a simple task without being hesitant and feeling embarrassed and being able to stand out diverse in the whole crew.
- Pragati Sharma
No one understands this....they just ask to follow what has been followed blindly