Welp, Help Yourself Woman!

So I guess Navratri (9 Nights) ended yesterday. As far as I know, it is celebrated to honor a goddess who symbolizes power and purity for 9 days. Hold on for I'm not going to touch anything about race or ritual beliefs. This was something inhumane that I experienced personally around a couple of weeks ago so I felt like connecting it to Navratri as it is somehow relatable.

Also read: Women Empower-mend?!

It started when I was involved in a commercial shooting at Batu Caves. Basically I was dead tired on the first day from climbing up and down the stairs. With the pride of climbing 272 steps again on the second day, I reached the entrance of the cave only to have my monthly bleed knocking in. Wrong place and time, I sigh. It came without any further notice so I had no sanitary pads with me. Decisively, I requested from the production team and guess what? One of the girls climbed all the way up just to give it. Yoo girl power ~~

Anyway, holding the pads zipped in a pouch, I was startled to find a toilet. Somehow, I know people there wouldn't even consider me to use the toilets as I was in a temple while bleeding. That was like the world's biggest taboo for them. I went to the extent of finding hidden spaces around the cave but (un)fortunately I didn't find any which means I had to find a loo. Long story short, after a few interrogations around, the people at the ground-level of the cave said there's a toilet up inside where you have to climb one more long, steep staircase.

Despite that, I went; I had to. Reached upstairs and asked the priest (pusari) while catching my breath regarding the toilet and told him I was in an emergency. Truly an emergency as I could feel "something" was getting drenched. I didn't tell him that. The pusari denied that there was no toilet upstairs so I went back to the management office in the ground-level temple and was enraged at them for making me go to-and-fro.

Not much of a hassle compared to the 272 steps but the stairs in the cave were steep and slippery, not to mention the mischievous monkeys who thought I was holding food in my hands. Then, one of the guys from the office brought me upstairs, again. I was exhausted. He finally gave me the keys to the booth toilet that was somewhere far inside the cave. It seemed that the toilet existed for a few minutes just when I left and came back.

Was about to enter the toilet with huge relief when the pusari came and questioned the office guy for giving me the key as he claimed I would make their toilet dirty. He touched the wrong and already heated-up nerve as well as you guessed it; I shouted at him. I asked him what's wrong if you allow me to use the toilet in such an emergency? He even replied that many people would ask and they couldn't allow them all.

I could have explained to him if he asked in a good manner that I was there for a shoot and I just got my period so climbing down the 272 steps with the cramps was more than impossible knowing that there was an existing toilet inside the cave itself! Instead I just told (shouted) at him that I wanna wear my sanitary towel so I won't make their toilets dirty. I replied a few more lines but couldn't recall it. And, he went off. Yes, he better be. I broke down as I was angry, in despair and exhausted. Worse, I didn't eat since morning and the brainless people had me climb up and down long stairs in the cave without even considering my pain. Oh and yeah I managed to finish my duty in the toilet while pondering upon the nonsensical incident.

Coming back to reality, when I see people everywhere worshipping goddesses especially to people from temples, why can't you help a woman when she's in real trouble? So what good the worship would give you while you actually neglecting a woman in pain? I wonder how they could act so mercilessly towards a woman in real life and shamelessly worship goddess. Not criticizing all, but just some judgmental eggholes.

This might be a simple story for some of you but the amount of exhaustion and despair I had on that day was up to a whole new level. On the other note, this incident had mirrored myself on how I'd boldly handled the situation.

Claiming that we are living in the 21st century is bullshit because people are still shitty by thinking period is a taboo. It's just a goddamn biological process. The guys that I saw including the pusari are the ones who wanted women for the sake of pleasure and won't even step out if they're in trouble. I pity all their wives and daughters. What a cynical society!