Yes, I bleed, and so do goddesses: What's your shame?

Yes I bleed!

Menstruation to stitched clothes, temple pandits have a problem with it all. To keep what they deem as unacceptable away from the temple is the purpose of their lives. In the name of tradition pandits play with the Constitution.

They challenge a woman’s right to practise a religion. There are dictums galore: you can pray here, you cannot pray there. Periods are not allowed. You are impure. You are tricked into believing that all these dictums are for your own good. You are forced into submission in the name of religious sentiments.

Spin the web well enough, create a bizarre illusion of what the gods don’t like and the pandits can pull off a Shani Shingla Dham, Haji Ali and Sabarimala in India even today. Women are barred. God, they say, is the reason. God? Indeed!

This country boasts of the Kamakhya Devi Mandir in Guwahati where the bleeding goddess is worshipped but the menstruating woman is not allowed. Worship the menstruating goddess but don’t allow menstruating women to worship! I can't find the right word to describe this absurdity.

Shani Shingla Dham Trust elects a woman as its president but continues to bar women from worshipping in the same way as men. No wonder the girl who jumped the fence created a stir. The farce of religious sentiments! The trap of compliance with norms. You have to fall in line.

Also read: Vedas don't portray menstruating women as impure. Why should we?

Then there are the godmen in this country. Gurmeet Ram Rahim. MSG. The "naam hi kaafi hai" kind of high and mighty in this country. Dera Sacha Sauda is his strength, but disco lights, jazzy T-shirts and 360 degree adulation and reverence are few of his many weaknesses.

Did I forget to mention filmmaking? He is strapped up with crazy disco lights when he dances to "Love Charger Baba" tunes. In fact, hilarious and bizarre find a new meaning in the film at every level.

This godman uses the same excuse. The excuse of religious sentiments being hurt. So Kiku Sharda must go to jail because the comedian of Kapil Sharma’s show of the "Palak" fame has apparently hurt the sentiments of Ram Rahim’s followers.

Religious sentiments! The farce of creating a bubble around the high and mighty has become a well-oiled profession with a robust number of Twitter accounts. Baba Ram Rahim gets his way. For one comic act, Kiku gets jailed twice. Mimicry becomes a crime in India to appease the Baba’s followers.

Also read: Even goddess in temple bleeds like all women. It's a blessing, not filth

So is religion the safest cover to have? You want something done? Is it unrightful? Unethical? Bizarre? Unconstitutional? Biased? Prejudiced? Unjust? If religion is your chosen cover, you can defy the Constitution. The point is, women or comedians don’t stand a chance in this country.

Women menstruate and they reproduce. Reproduction! Rings a bell? The very act as a result of which these self-proclaimed custodians of god are born. They then declare women impure or unacceptable.

Their theories revolve around insane beliefs like god here follows Brahmacharya or god accepts oil only from male devotees. Dargahs like Haji Ali too consider women impure at various stages.

Religious beliefs can't be used to twist people's arms. God or godman. Do women or mimics scare you so much?

In this country of "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao", open discrimination happens in the name of gender. A girl jumps the fence, breaks law to worship Shani dev! She chooses to revolt. How many more are ready to?

There are some battles worth fighting for!