It was just another day for Javid Parsa, owner of Kathi Junction in Srinagar, Kashmir. He had put out a message on Facebook after a customer had left her belonging in his restaurant, asking them to pick it up. A routine act. But what followed was a wall full of trolling, insults and insinuations.
Reason? The belonging happened to be women’s Sanitary napkin.
From being reminded of sharm and haya to drawing his mother and sister into the debate, the trolls tried it all.
And some even threatened him with the prospect of losing business.
But even after a few of his FB friends ‘unfriended’ him over the instance, Javid Parsa had kept his cool and his stance firm: Menstruation is a natural phenomenon to women, there is nothing wrong in talking about it, he told The Quint.
The trolls questioned my faith in my religion and even dragged my mother and sister in the whole debate. One of them suggested if the forgotten sanitary pads belonged to my sister. I calmly responded with ‘No, my sister did not come to my restaurant that day.’ Since sanitary napkins aren’t something to get angry over.Javid Parsa, Kanthi junction, Srinagar
Talking to The Quint, Parsa recounted how one of the trolls suggested why he doesn’t open a shop to sell sanitary napkins? To that he responded with this post.
Amid cries of ‘dishonour' and ‘ruined modesty’, there were also voices of reason who lauded Parsa for standing up his stance.
Parsa’s simple ‘lost and found’ post has opened a Pandora’s Box of sorts on the prevailing taboo surrounding periods in our society. Isn’t it time we prioritise women’s health over their modesty?
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