Kerala: Law student receives threats over Facebook post on menstruation

After posting a poem about the taboos related to menstruation on social media site Facebook, an 18-year-old law student from Kerala filed a police complaint of cyber bullying by right-wing groups due to the post. The girl, Navami Ramachandran, who hailed from Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district, has said that she received threats on social media.

She also claimed that her school-going sister was also threatened by a group of unidentified people earlier this week. A few bike-borne persons, with their faces covered threatened her younger sister. Meanwhile, her social media account has been flooded with obscene comments and threats for criticising menstrual taboos. An activist of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the teenager had posted a poem to extend support to another youngster who had also faced a similar threat for speaking out on menstruation on social media.

To note, menstruation is taboo in India and there are many social and cultural hurdles for the advancement of knowledge of the subject. Girls and women are subjected to restrictions. Some are not allowed to enter kitchen or even the puja room.