Managing cultural differences with menstrual health
12 Nov 2006
For many people living in a multi-cultural society, cultural or religious expectations can affect how menstrual health is perceived and managed. In the first of a series of articles, NAPS looks at how menstruation is managed within Islam.
According to Batool Al-Toma, Research and Education Officer at the Islamic Foundation in Leicester, management and education of menstrual health depends upon individual Muslim communities. For example, the Arabic culture is quite open about menstrual cycles and other equivalent rites of passage. Some Asian cultures, however, would discuss these issues only with female professionals and not openly with other family members. For many Muslim women, menstruation and menstrual health is discussed openly in text books and is nothing shameful and younger Muslim women are encouraged in Western culture to be more expressive than previous generations.
Generally, Muslim’s are encouraged to eat well, taking care about salt and educated to eat as much freshly cooked and prepared organic produce as possible. They are educated within their culture to avoid alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and other stimulants and are encouraged to use barrier methods of contraception rather than taking medication such as the pill, which may interfere with a woman’s natural hormones. However, there are no strict rules and there are certainly women who will choose to take the pill or HRT for menopausal symptoms, for example.
One of the main issues for the Muslim society is the way in which sex education and health is taught within Western schools, and many families will choose to withdraw their children from these lessons. Muslim families prefer to prepare their daughters with gradual dissemination of relevant information as they become old enough to understand. They are informed about their needs as they arise, always in the context of their future family life. However, in some Muslim cultures, girls are unfortunately left in a degree of ignorance – often older daughters are expected to educate younger siblings - whilst others receive no education from their mothers at all. For these families, sex education and anything to do with menstruation is a taboo subject and girls are dependent on sex education in schools. Therefore, withdrawing these children from lessons at school can be a huge potential problem as well as considerable embarrassment for the child at school.
It’s important to note that the teachings of the Koran includes a complete overview of the development of the fetus from conception to birth, so young people are educated within their culture, but may, in certain circumstances be unable to discuss what is specifically happening to them with anyone.
With regard to religion, women who are menstruating are exempt from the daily rituals associated with prayer (five times a day) at this time. Normally, Muslims will wash to prepare themselves physically for the mental, spiritual act of prayer. Menstruating women are exempt from this as well as prayer. The only other restriction is that sex is not allowed during menstruation. The main reason for this is to help prevent infections as the mouth of the cervix is open at this time for the blood flow, and, therefore a greater possibility of infection. When the period is finished, many Muslim women may have a special ritual bath. Menstruating women are also not expected to fast during the month of fasting.
“It really depends upon the actual Muslim culture – some are very open but for others the subject is still very much taboo. There is, a great need to produce relevant literature in different languages giving advice and information about menstrual health. This is particularly important for some Muslim cultures who regard the issue as a taboo subject, which makes it very difficult for many women living in today’s modern Western society.”
Useful links
www.islamic-foundation.org.uk
Eating a healthy diet is very much a part of NAPS guidelines for helping to control PMS symptoms. Muslims eat very healthily too and must follow very strict guidelines.
All foods are halal except for those that are explicitly haram or mushbooh. Haram foods include alcohol and intoxicants, lard, pork products and pork by-products, animals improperly slaughtered or dead before slaughter, animals killed in the name of anyone but Allah, carnivorous animals, birds or prey, blood and blood by-products, and foods contaminated with any of the above products. The laws surrounding most foods are simple: either the food is allowed, or it isn't, and most of the time, it is.
Foods that are definitely halal are plentiful and include: milk, honey, fish, plants (non-intoxicating), fresh or naturally frozen vegetables, fresh or dried fruits, legumes and many nuts (peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.), and grains such as wheat, rye, barley, rice, oats, etc. Cows, sheep, goats, deer, chickens, ducks, game birds, and such meats are halal as long as they are zabihah (slaughtered according to Islamic rites).
It might seem like a formidable hassle to conform to these standards (for instance, many toothpastes and bottled flavour extracts are haram because of their alcoholic contents), but it is necessary to realize that this "list of don'ts" is not arbitrary. There are significant religious and practical reasons for the abstention of all things haram for Muslims. The Quran contains several passages that warn against intoxication, which befogs the mind. The impairment of reason not only has harmful effects on personal health, it can have negative social and familial implications. It is also stated that for a Muslim to stay holy and to have his or her prayers heard, s/he must stay innocent in the eyes of God by keeping with halal foods. In the Quran, Muhammad urges Muslims to partake of the "good things" that have been provided for them.
There are also practical reasons for avoiding haram products. The halal slaughtering process (zabihah) consists of killing the animal quickly with a sharp knife while the name of Allah is muttered. The quick slaughter ensures that the animal's death is not filled with unnecessary pain. Animals which are dead before slaughter are avoided for health reasons-the animal may have succumbed to disease or poisoning. Also, leaving the meat provides food for other animals on the food chain and gives the animal's owner incentive to take care of the animal, so he may properly sell the animal and earn a living. The animal, then, is protected from neglect. Pork, too, is avoided for health reasons because it can host disease, most notably the bacteria trichina.
The Islamic Dietary Laws are not static; as new products are introduced and more information on foods becomes available, the laws change. The Muslim Food Board works on certifying appropriate foods as halal and determining which foods are haram and mushbooh. The process of investigation is complex; the Board investigates all contents of products, the cleaning procedures of production and packing equipment, and conducts site audits of all production/processing sites to verify compliance with the Islamic Dietary Laws. Every aspect of a product is researched-from its raw ingredients to trace ingredients that encounter a product in the manufacturing and packaging processes.
As countless foods are considered permissible under the Islamic Dietary Laws, a halal diet is by no means doomed to be monotonous. On the contrary, halal food can be nutritious, flavourful and diverse. Halal food varies across the map, as each region has its favourite traditional recipes.
Related Links
www.eat-halal.com
www.uh.edu/campus/msa/articles/halal.html
