Binti Volunteers promoting Period Policy
Trailblazer: No bar on menstruating women in this UK Sikh Gurdwara
London, April 7, 2019: Facilitating women inside religious places during their periods may still be a taboo in countries but it is heartening to note that a prominent UK Sikh Gurdwara has taken a revolutionary stand on busting this period taboo.
This welcome step is the brainchild of a Sikh woman campaigner Manjit Kaur Gill, Founder and CEO of of Binti International, a charitable organisation which promotes and ensures equality among all those visiting Gurdwara to pay obeisance. It took this initiative in association with Peter Virdee Foundation.
Reported by Alia Waheed in glamourmagazine.co.uk, the Khalsa Jatha Sikh Gurdwara, Shepherds Bush, London, the oldest in the UK, has earned the distinction of becoming the first in the world to initiate open talks about taboo surrounding menstruation and launch a period policy for women devotees.
In another report by UK-based Youth Ki Awaz, Binti International collaborated with the Gurdwara management to create awareness that women of any religious faith can visit the Gurdwara and get free menstrual products like sanitary napkins and partake free meal (langar). The taboo-shattering policy mandates that no woman should be restricted by anyone from doing sewa in the Gurdwara during menstruation . A formal Periods Policy was prepared and launched in the month of February , 2019.
Gill took upon her organisation to bust this stigma surrounding menstruation after discovering that this deeply engrained discrimination targeting women in countries like India also existed in the UK.
"It was a real eye opener to see we had the same issues in the UK," she was quoted as saying in the glamour magazine report which also contains experiences of other UK Sikh women debunking this taboo. Gill decided to involve Gurdwaras in her campaign after she found out that discrimination against women in periods had nothing to do with religion and that this was product of cultural myths.
Launch of period policy ( File Photo )
It was not that easy for her to convince Gurdwara managements. According to the magazine report, she had faced backlash from people who held a strong view that it was improper to discuss the issue in a religious place.
Undeterred by opposition from within her community, she carried on her mission and finally achieved a breakthrough. "…we hope other gurdwaras will follow suit and it sends a positive message to the community that our faith doesn’t discriminate," said Gurpreet Singh Anand, Youth Secretary of the Gurdwara was quoted as saying.
An Outer view of Khalsa Jatha Sikh Gurdwara, Shepherds Bush, London, the oldest in the UK
Binti International aims to involve more UK Gurdwaras and Temples and also to spread this initiative to India. Plans are afoot to organize menstrual health awareness workshops. The Sikh congregation is being encouraged to add menstrual products to the items being already donated by them to the Gurdwara.
Binti also launched its twitter handle @binti_periods with a vision create a world where all women have menstrual dignity Find us on Instagram & Facebook at binti.period #SmashShame #BintiRosePose#PeriodMonologues