Another os with another sensitive topic
Happy reading!

So AvNeil 's families know eachother since childhood
They belong to a village background& used to live with their families but due to lack of better educational facilities, the duo shifted to Mumbai to complete their education& get jobs

*****

Random evening, after dinner-

AvNeil were sitting in the balcony
Avni was in neil's lap, staring at the moon, lost in her thoughts while neil was busy staring at his "personal moon" i.e avni

They are living together in a flat since they got jobs but they didnt tell their parents bcz they have a very orthodox thinking& now want them to get married& settle back in village itself

Neil's voice broke avni's trance

N-kya sochri ho jaan?

A-muje bohot tension hori h

N-kis baat ki?

A-humare parents ne subah hi toh hum dono ko exclusively call karke bola tha ke hum wapas village shift hojaye
Aur men jaanti hu ke waha jaake kya hoga-

Humari shaadi hojayegi, men housewife ban jaungi& tumhe dad ke sath unka grocery store sambhaalna padega
Muje pehle baby producing machine& phir housewife banake ghar men rakh denge- more like a show piece bcz villagers ki nazro men ladki ke dreams ki toh koi value hoti nahi h na

Muje shaadi se problem nahi h par men job nahi chodna chahti- itni mushkil se itne saal padhai kari
Now i dont want my efforts to go down the drain
I dont want to leave this city

N-i can understand jaan- mere se kahi zyada mushkil tumhare liye they ye study years
Aur hum bol denge ke shaadi ke baad hum wapas yaha aa jayenge bcz hum jobs nahi chod sakte

A-its not that easy
You know their level of stubbornness na?
Unhe toh ye bhi nahi pata that we have been living together since the day we came here- which is legal in Indian constitution but a crime in eyes of villagers& unhe iska matlab samjhana dewaar pe sar maarne jesa hai

N-jaan, jab humne itne months tak pta nahi chalne dia toh baad men bhi pata nahi chalega
Shuru men darr tha bcz ghar rented tha& landlord bata sakta tha par ab toh humne ghar khareed liya h na

A-neil humare village men bohot kam ladkiya h jo apni education complete karke job kar payi h
Aur wo sab aaj din tak village wapas nahi aayi bcz they know what will happen next- there parents will get them married forcefully& they will never be able to fulfill their dreams

Unke parents ne unse relation tod diya hai
Wo ladkiya bhi jaanti h ke ghut ghut ke jeene se better h akele raho
Mushkil h but at least azaad rahoge

Apart from this, another major issue in our village is sanitation& hygiene for women
Ye toh sab jaante h ke bathrooms toh ab jaake bane h-pehle toh sab khule men hi hota tha

But still there are few households which still lack proper bathrooms which ultimately forces women to bathe in ponds, wells etc
Bcz of the lack of secrecy, the women bathe wearing clothes which add to the moisture accumulating all over their body, especially the genitals, thus giving rise to numerous diseases.

Even if women feel the need to do something about your condition how do they talk about it? The head of the household, by whom all the proposals are passed in order for them to take effect, is a man

You might not have that much of an idea, but with villagers still have the same vp about menses what it was years ago

Periods jesa simple bolne men bhi itni sharm aati h jese kisi p*rn movie ka naam le liya ho-
Aur duration 5days hota h toh naam de diya-test match bulate h
They still believe in bizarre superstitions

👉Using cloth over sanitary napkins bcz buying pads is embarrassing
👉Sleeping in the shed outside the house bcz if you stay inside, the house will become impure
👉Eating in separate utensils
👉No entering kitchen
👉No eating pickle
👉No entering temple
👉No socializing with anyone
👉During this time, you becomes impure, dirty or cursed
👉Washing hair will make you infertile
👉Touching fruit trees will spoil the fruits& make it inedible
👉Dont touch newborns because it will leave a mark on them or make them sick

And the list goes on
There was no option in childhood so i used to bare all that somehow
But now how do i bare all those stupid rules?
In past yrs, ive become more independent- i dont wanna loose my freedom& follow those stupid rules again

You know i used to save money every month to purchase pads instead of cloth bcz parents toh pad khreedne se mana kar dete they- kehte they ye peso ki wastage h
They still dont understand that no matter how many times you wash it, cloth is still the biggest breeding ground for so many germs
Mom& my late grandmothers were used to all this nonsense but im not& neither did i have to get used to it
Thats why i always used pads& disposed them off in the public dustbin which used to come on my way to school& dikhawe ke liye kapda dress ke neeche sukha deti thi taki kisi ko shaq na ho

Neil felt really guilty on hearing all this, although he knew the stereotype thing to basic level

N(sadly)-sirf 5din ke natural process ke liye bhi ek aurat ko kitna struggle karna padta h ye padha toh tha par mehsoos nahi kia kyuki ek mard chahe kitna bhi understanding kyu na ho, iss sabka andaza kabhi laga hi nahi sakta
Educated youth toh ye samajh jata h par inn villlages ko koi kese samjhaye kyuki sach toh yehi hai na ke ye samajhna hi nahi chahte- aaj sunenge bhi toh haftebhar baad phir wohi purani soch paal lenge

Jo superstitions& stereotypes inke parents ne inko sikhaye they wo inke brain men iss level tak baith gaye h ke ye sunne ko ready hi nahi h
And wohi sab ye apne betiyo ko pass on kar dete h& jab betiya educate hoke inke stereotypes ko question kare toh usse ye zabaan ladane ka tag de dete h

A- neil tumhe guilty feel karne ki zarurat nahi h
Na isme tumhari koi galti h na meri
Muje tumse shaadi karni h par bina inn stereotypes ko follow kiye& wo humare village men rehte hue toh hoga nahi
I dont wanna leave this city
Men chahti hu ke humari beti ko meri tarah na darr darr ke pads use karne pade na hi menses ko leke nervous ho- i want her to live fearlessly

N-i know jaan
Aur koi tumhara saath de ya na de, men humesha tumhare sath hu
Aur isiliye hum kal subah hi unse kahenge ke shaadi ke baad Mumbai wapas aa jayenge- thats my promise

A-aur god forbidden agar wo nahi maane toh?

N-toh hum court marriage kar lenge
Men tumhe itni sari problems se guzarte hue nahi dekh sakta
And yes, we wont have kids in family pressure- will plan our kids& teach them to never believe in the stereotypes 

Avni smiled& hugged neil tightly

A-i love you

N-love you too jaan (kissing her hair)

Thats all
Idk how it was- just wanted to highlight a sensitive topic but couldnt write in form of a story
Chappals, tomatoes& eggs are welcomed