where allah has ordained for you; indeed, allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves. your women are your tilth, so come to your tilth as you wish and put forth for yourselves; and fear allah and know that you will meet him; and give good tidings to the believers. (al-quran 2:222-223) the traditional islamic interpretation of the qur'an forbids intercourse during a woman's menstrual period, but allows for physical intimacy and other sexual acts that are not intercourse. if a man is engaged in sexual intercourse with his wife and discovers that her period has started, he must immediately withdraw. on authority of urwa: "a person asked me, 'can a woman in menses serve me? and can a junub woman come close to me?' i replied, 'all this is easy for me. all of them can serve me, and there is no harm for any other person to do the same. 'aisha told me that she used to comb the hair of allah's apostle while she was in her menses, and he was in itikaf (in the mosque). he would bring his head near her in her room and she would comb his hair, while she used to be in her menses.'" buddhism in buddhism (theravada or hinayana) menstruation is viewed as "a natural physical excretion that women have to go through on a monthly basis, nothing more or less". however, in certain branches of japanese buddhism, menstruating women are banned from attending temples. in nichiren buddhism (japan) menstruation is not considered a spiritual obstacle to religious practice, although a menstruating woman may choose not to bow, for comfort. during menstruation, women should not enter temples or shrines, being seen as polluted. in sri lankan buddhism, this is also true for their husbands and other men, who have been in a home with menstruating women. hinduism in spite of being born to bhudevi and varaha, narakasura (shown here being killed by krishna) turned out to be evil because he was conceived when his mother was undergoing menstruation. hinduism's views on menstruation are diverse. menstruation is seen as a period of purification, and women may or may not be separated from place of worship or any object pertaining to it, for the length of their period. but, in contrast to abrahamic religions and many other cultures across the world, one will also witness hindus celebrating menstruation in various forms like the celebration of the onset of menstruation among young girls. this forms the basis of most of the cultural practices and restrictions around menstruation in hinduism. sikhism menstruation does not lead to women being considered impure in sikhism, and women's behavior is not restricted during the time when she is menstruating. in the feminine principle in the sikh vision of the transcendent, nikky guninder kaur-singh writes:the denigration of the female body "expressed in many cultural and religious taboos surrounding menstruation and child-birth" is absent in the sikh worldview. guru nanak openly chides those who attribute pollution to women because of menstruation. baháʼí faith bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the baháʼí faith, in the kitáb-i-aqdas abolished all forms of ritual impurity of people and things and stressed the importance of cleanliness and spiritual purity. menstruating women are encouraged to pray and are not required to fast; they have the (voluntary) alternative of reciting a verse instead. jainism in jainism, the bleeding that occurs in menstruation is thought to kill micro-organisms in the body, making the female body exhausted, causing cramps, and producing stress. hence, women are expected to rest and not perform any religious duties for a duration of four days. in this time, the man of the house may take up the duties of the woman. shinto in japan, the religion of shinto did and still does play a part in their society. the kami, the spirits they worshiped, would not grant wishes to those who had traces of blood, dirt, or death on them. while menstruation is not entirely blood, the ancient japanese did not know that. as a result, women who were menstruating were not allowed to visit any of the kami shrines for the duration of their menstrual period. even today, women are not allowed to enter shinto shrines and temples during menstruation, and in some instances, women are completely banned from climbing the tops of sacred mountains due to their 'impurity'. furthermore, the tradition is kept somewhat alive in the belief that the shedding of the endometrial lining is a kind of death. the tradition relates to the thought that any death in the family brings impurity and those experiencing this must wait a certain amount of time before being able to return to shrines and other holy areas. chinese religions in chinese belief systems, women are not supposed to touch sacred statues, make offerings, or pray to sacred statues on their menstrual cycle. before the revolution some temples only permitted men, and women who were very old or very young, to attend. chinese views of menstruation are still deeply influenced by confucianism values of virtue and chastity. many women feel empowered and feminine in their early years of starting their menstrual cycles. wicca and paganism menstruation is mentioned in some wiccan and pagan texts. there are collected books and material on witchcraft and menstruation at the museum of witchcraft and magic. in the 2010s public wiccan and pagan practitioners began sharing rituals, spells and histories of menstruation in these belief systems. pagan rituals and histories of menstruation is also discussed in books such as penelope shuttle and peter redgrove's the wise wound: menstruation and everywoman. by region africa across the continent of africa, a wide variety of menstruation-related customs have been recorded. in 2014 unesco reported that an estimated 10% of girls in sub-saharan africa do not go to school while menstruating. this is likely due to a lack of resources rather than cultural customs of exclusion. ghana religious taboos and social stigma concerning menstruation contribute to a lack of access to school for girls in ghana. in rural areas of the country 95% of girls have reported missing school during their periods. the world bank estimates that 11.5 million women in ghana do not have access to adequate hygiene and sanitation. zambia a cloth torn from the traditional wrap (chitenge) is worn, part tied around the waist and part looped under the crotch, to catch menstrual fluid. menarche (the first menstrual cycle at puberty) is traditionally treated as a sign that the girl is probably ready for sex and marriage, as well as for adult duties in the household. initiation rites on menarche include instruction on sex and marital relations as well as on menstrual management. this is conducted by older women. it is taboo to talk about menstruation with men, or to learn from one's own mother. south and south east asia in some portions of south asia, there is a menstrual taboo, with it frequently being considered impure. restrictions on movement, behaviour and eating are frequently placed. according to a 2018 study, more than one-third of girls across south asia do not go to school during menstruation. laos a small study in a rural area in laos (savannakhet) found that menstruation is considered taboo and shameful.: 40 this creates difficulties in sharing knowledge at school and at home. also, there is a low level of menstrual hygiene management. this has a negative effect on social opportunities in achieving good health, moving around freely and going to school.: 40 some menstruating women (16%) wear double-layer skirts (sinhs) while in the private sphere, compared to 54% who wear disposable pads.: 28 india in most of india, menarche is celebrated as a positive aspect of a girl's life. for example, in andhra pradesh, girls who experience their menstrual period for the first time are given presents and celebrations to mark the occasion. in some traditional homes in india, girls and women face restrictive taboos relative to menstruation, such as being denied entry to the kitchen. in areas around the jhabua district of madhya pradesh, the belief is that "menstruation is a disease and not a normal biological process", and therefore women who are menstruating are not allowed to sleep on beds, enter kitchens, touch male members of their family or eat spicy foods. in a 2014 study conducted in india, the researchers found that as many as 42% of women who participated in the study did not know about sanitary pads or the anatomical origin of their menstruation. the researchers noted that women reused old rags to deal with their menstrual discharge, and that "most of them were scared or worried on first menstruation." 88% of menstruating women in rural india use alternatives to sanitary pads such as old fabric, rags, sand, ash, wood shavings, newspapers and hay. keddasa keddaso - menstruation of mother earth celebration in tulunadu, karnataka keddaso (also transliterated keddasa, and also known as bhumi puje, and in tulu as keḍḍasa ಕೆಡ್ಡಸ), is popularly known as the "festival of worshipping mother earth" in the tulu nadu region of karnataka in south india. it is believed that on this day, bhoomi devi undergoes menstruation and the day is celebrated holistically in tulu nadu. this is an important four-day festival celebrated in the closing days of the tulu month ponny (gregorian month of february). sabarimala temple women between 10 and 50 years of age were legally banned from entering sabarimala between 1991 and 2018. sabarimala temple is situated at the place of that name in pathanamthitta district, kerala. women of reproductive age were not permitted to worship there; the ban was said to be out of respect to the celibate nature of the deity to whom it is dedicated, shasta, an underage teenage male. a kerala high-court judgement had legalized this interpretation, and forbade women from entering the temple since 1991. in september 2018, a judgement of the supreme court of india ruled that all hindu pilgrims regardless of gender can enter. the constitution bench of the supreme court held that any exception placed on women because of biological differences violates the constitution – that the ban violates the right to equality under article 14. this verdict led to protests, demonstrations and violence by millions of ayyappa devotees (both male and female) supported by the hindu right-wing bharatiya janata party and opposed by the ldf led state government. about ten women attempted to enter sabarimala, despite threats of physical assault, but failed to reach the sanctum sanctorum. defying such protests, two women activists belonging to the previously barred age group associated with the ruling communist party of india (marxist) finally entered the temple through the rear gate, on the early hours of 2 january 2019, with the help of police and local administration. when this alleged action was brought to the notice of the temple priests and authorities, the temple was closed for ritual purification. controversy regarding the implementation of this verdict continues. ambubachi mela in the kamakhya temple kamakhya puja festival assamese and bengali hindus adhering to shaktism celebrate the menstruation of the goddess kamakhya during the ambubachi mela (অম্বুবাচী), an annual fertility festival held in june, in kamakhya temple, guwahati, assam, india. the temple stays closed for three days and then reopens to receive pilgrims and worshippers. it is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in india, attracting millions of visitors each year, particularly for ambubachi mela which draws upwards of 100,000 pilgrims per day during the four-day festival. before the temple is closed for ambubachi, a white cloth is placed over the yoni (vulva)-shaped stone in which the goddess kamakhya is worshipped in the temple. at the end of ambubachi, when the temple is reopened and ambubachi mela is held, the assembled devotees are provided with fragments of that cloth, now reddened to signify menstrual blood. this cloth, known as raktobostro (रक्तवस्त्र), is considered especially holy by hindus since it has been stained by the 'menstrual blood' of kamakhya, the mother of the universe. indonesia sign reading: "it's prohibited to enter without decent dress and for woman having menstruation", bali, 1979 in bali, a woman is not allowed to enter the kitchen to perform her usual duties, nor is she allowed to have sex with her husband while menstruating. she is to sleep apart