Bali has banned menstruating women from entering their temples because period blood is ‘dirty’ and will ‘contaminate’ the religious sites.
The holiday island has recently launched a crackdown on ‘naughty’ tourists to protect its sacred sites and Bali’s ‘cultural integrity’, with those in breach of the new rules facing fines and even imprisonment.
Women have been banned from entering Balinese temples while on their period, which the official Visit Bali site is because menstrual blood is ‘dirty’ and would ‘make the temple become impure’.
Tourists should respect local customs and ‘maintain the cleanliness of the surrounding environment’, Visit Bali added.
‘We issued a similar regulation before, but as things change, we need to adapt,’ Bali governor Wayan Koster said during a press conference.
‘This ensures that Bali’s tourism remains respectful, sustainable, and in harmony with our local values.’
A tourism task force is ensuring the new rules, which came into effect on March 24, are followed and that tourists who are ‘naughty will be immediately dealt with firmly’, according to the Bali Sun.
It is unclear how authorities intend to check whether a woman is menstruating to stop her from entering a temple.
Bali has banned menstruating women from entering their temples because period blood is ‘dirty’ and will ‘contaminate temples’
The holiday island has recently launched a crackdown on ‘naughty’ tourists to protect its sacred sites and Bali’s ‘cultural integrity’, with those in breach of the new rules for tourists facing fines and even imprisonment
The visitor’s information site says that if these rules are breached and people enter the temples while on their period, ‘many women experience pain and faint while in the temple’.
Legend in Bali says that ‘mystical events that can befall menstruating women in temples, such as possession’, according to Visit Bali.
But not only menstruating women are banned from entering the temple: Men or women who are in “cuntaka” – so’impure’ physically and spiritually in the Hindu faith – or those whose family member recently died also shouldn’t enter.
Couples who have babies under the age of six months are also banned.
The dominant religion on the paradise island is Balinese Hinduism – which differs significantly from Indian Hinduism – and more than 80 per cent of the Balinese population are part of it.
‘Bali is a beautiful, sacred island, and we expect our guests to show the same respect that we extend to them,’ Koster said.
Other rules aimed at tourists forbids them from using single-use plastics like plastic bags and straws, being rude to locals and littering.
The aim is for visitors to behave more respectfully in restaurants, shops, on Balinese streets as well as social media.
The dominant religion on the paradise island is Balinese Hinduism – which differs significantly from Indian Hinduism – and more than 80 per cent of the Balinese population are part of it
‘I am implementing this circular as an immediate measure to regulate foreign tourists while they are in Bali,’ Bali governor Koster said at his press conference.
This comes after Bali introduced an entry fee in February 2024, charging all international tourists 150,000 Indonesian Rupiah (£7) to travel through Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar or any of the island’s ports.
Bali, which is expected to see 14 to 16 million tourists visit the island this year, said it will use the revenue generated by the entry fee – and likely the fines imposed on tourists who break the new rules – to protect the island’s environment.
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