Bharat Stree

An autobiographical account of India's oppressive and sexist atmosphere combined with the rigors of Hinduism juxtaposed by immigrating to America's similarly plagued gender equality environment.

Tears streamed from my eyes as the frigid morning air stung my wet, naked body.

Temple bells rang as my mother hurriedly wrapped my tiny frame in silken robes, and I felt the air strike against my ears as we rushed to prayer with the nuns. As we meditated, I moved my hands onto my mother’s swollen stomach to feel the kicks of my unborn sister. Her birth, like mine, would be miraculous in this Indian society which demands the bodies of infant girls.

The granite walls of the temple and satin veils of the nuns raised us to Hindu spiritual salvation. They also protected us from the terrifyingly mundane horrors that lay just outside the marble steps: using the bathroom could turn into a rape; a husband’s death could lead to a lifetime of shame. The same Hindu deities governing our daily lives spin a society where women are viewed as subhuman--a world plagued by violence and inequality.

Luck smiled on my family when we received our US Visas. In the United States however, I saw degrading douching commercials on TV, discussion of risky home labiaplasties in middle school, and the same ignorance present outside the convent’s walls in our sexual-education classes. Although this country had given me so much, I realized that it was not free of the same sexism that had constricted my motherland.

The lack of education about the female body angered me, and I longed for my peers and myself to be knowledgeable about our own bodies, as people always fear what they don’t understand. However, I found I could make the most impact through educating about the female reproductive system.

As a young girl interested in education about the female reproductive system, my interests sometimes struck a sour note with my peers. I was known as “the vagina girl” at school and ridiculed for my passion; yet, I refused to desist. I knew I was pushing boundaries when barriers were erected in front of me.

I want to continue to participate in the movement to remove stigma regarding the female reproductive system, and to encourage others to do the same. One day, I hope to see the world and safe and accepting for women as the shaktist temple walls of my childhood.