Beliefs about menstruation among the Zulu of South Africa

This essay analyzes the ancient and contemporary culture and perception of the Zulu tribe of South Africa in relation to menstruation. It discusses the historical beliefs and taboos surrounding menstruation, the impact on women's empowerment and health, and the need for improvements in menstrual hygiene.

Running head: CULTURE, HEALTH AND ILLNESS
Beliefs about menstruation among the Zulu of South Africa
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CULTURE, HEALTH AND ILLNESS
Introduction- According to Napier et al. (2014) culture encompasses patterns of
customs, ideas and behaviors that are shared by specific individuals or the society and is in
the process of continuous evolution. Cultural evolution also increases at a rapid rate under
circumstances when different groups migrate to and implement constituents of a novel culture
into their background. This essay will analyze the ancient and contemporary culture and
perception of the Zulu tribe of South Africa, in relation to menstruation.
Discussion- An analysis of the case study suggests that during the 1970s, people
belonging to the Zulu tribe often considered menstruation as a form of contagious pollution
that was transmitted by women. This in turn was considered dangerous to the natural world
and other individuals as well. Zulu people considered themselves as the people of the heavens
and represent the biggest ethnicity of South Africa (Tan, D. A., Haththotuwa & Fraser, 2017).
Since several decades, this culture has been associated with several societal taboo related
with menstruation. Ancient Zulu culture considered the physiological process as
embarrassing, unclean, and also inhibited contact with women who were in their menstrual
cycle.
Not much improvements have been made in the context of menstruation in recent
years. Currently, menstruation is often spoken of in quiet tones in the South African culture.
Thus, stigma and myth around the topic of menstruation create little room for an effective
conversation. The notion of menstrual huts are even common today and prohibit women
belonging to the South African tribes, form actively participating in family activities, based
on the stereotype of being impure. One major impact of this discriminating attitude is the fact
that considering menstruating women as impure and unclean affects their empowerment,
health, literacy levels, education, and working life. Even in the contemporary society, several
females are segregated, discriminated, or degraded based on their gender due to the
occurrence of a certain physical process over which they do not have any control

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(Padmanabhanunni, Jaffer & Steenkamp, 2018). However, recent advances have identified
the significant impact that an improvement in women reproductive and sexual health can
bring about on participation of the women in education and economy. Additionally, the
negative experiences with menstruation often creates an impact on the society as a whole,
destructively due to the lack of sanitation facilities, clean water, and tools used for coping
with menstrual flow. Lack of proper access to sanitary wear also disempowers the women
belonging to the Zulu tribe that makes them resort to the usage of unhygienic cloths and rags
that increases risks of infections (Scorgie et al., 2016). In addition, less privileged women and
girls who have reached puberty are continually subjected to suffering due to absenteeism
from school, besides a compromise to their healthcare rights.
Conclusion- Therefore, it can be concluded that the physiological phenomenon of
menstruation that is unique to girls was considered as a socio-cultural taboo and affected the
lifestyle, mental state and emotional state of the affected population. The Zulu culture
considered menstruation as a ritually unclean event. Although several advancements are
being made in the domain of menstrual hygiene, several women from the South African
region are still subjected to discrimination and stigma.

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References
Napier, A. D., Ancarno, C., Butler, B., Calabrese, J., Chater, A., Chatterjee, H., ... &
Macdonald, A. (2014). Culture and health. The Lancet, 384(9954), 1607-1639.
Padmanabhanunni, A., Jaffer, L., & Steenkamp, J. (2018). Menstruation experiences of South
African women belonging to the ama-Xhosa ethnic group. Culture, health &
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Scorgie, F., Foster, J., Stadler, J., Phiri, T., Hoppenjans, L., Rees, H., & Muller, N. (2016).
“Bitten By Shyness”: Menstrual Hygiene Management, Sanitation, and the Quest for
Privacy in South Africa. Medical anthropology, 35(2), 161-176.
Tan, D. A., Haththotuwa, R., & Fraser, I. S. (2017). Cultural aspects and mythologies
surrounding menstruation and abnormal uterine bleeding. Best Practice & Research
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