I would like to understand at what point in history Muslim women became ashamed of their bodies. This issue comes up every single Ramadan - the issue of hiding your period from your family, and pretending as though you are fasting.
Right now there's a "funny" video going around lengths to which Muslim women go in order to hide the fact that they are not fasting from their own brothers and family members. They outright lie about why they are not fasting in order to avoid saying, "I have my period."
It hurts me that I even have to say this, but there is nothing shameful about our bodies. Allah (swt) created them in perfection, down to every last feature. Allah and His messenger spoke clearly and openly about the rules of menstruation. So who do we think we are to assign shame and extreme secrecy to it?
No one is saying wear a tshirt that says "I HAVE MY PERIOD" or rudely slurp a drink in a fasting person's face on a hot day. But it's a problem if you can't even take a sip of water in your own home because your father and brothers are ignorant about women not fasting during their periods. It's actually ridiculous.
If I have my period I'm going to sit at the table and eat, not hide and cower in the washroom with a bag of chips, with the tap on so no one hears the bag making noise. I'm a human being with dignity for God's sake.
Allah said I don't have to fast during this time, so I refuse to lie about it or make it seem like something unnatural. It is perfectly natural and normal, and we should be teaching our girls AND boys about this.
I believe in the beauty and necessity of modesty in both dress and behaviour, but that doesn't translate into denying the fact that we are women with menstrual cycles.
