This First Person column is written by Leisha Toory, who lives in Ottawa. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
I was around 11 when my grandmother told me I couldn’t enter our family temple in Mauritius when girls were unclean. “Unclean” was her word for menstruating. I felt so ashamed as my cousins, siblings, parents and other relatives walked into the temple that day while I stayed outside and watched the ceremony from afar.
This ostracization happened monthly to the other women on their periods in our community as well. There was no reason for me
