From a woman who faced her periods on International Women’s Day, 2018:
Yeah, every single woman born on this planet should of course be a mother without exception – because God said so, and she should be celebrated for all the sacrifices she makes so selflessly! Otherwise she is evil, crazy – a waste of a woman.
But when it comes to talking about periods, hush hush! “Chhiii, eishob keu bole (Shame on you, does anyone say these things)?” Don’t let anyone get a hint of that struggle. You’re supposed to keep it a secret and go through it alone. Children are just born magically! Periods, pregnancy are childbirth don’t take away anything, material or non-material, from women. They shouldn’t even be discussed – out in the open.
Men should take them from granted. Just enjoy the benefits when you get them – when you get your precious family-tree-saving sons. Why consider what women go through? Let’s pretend we don’t exhaust our bodies and minds. Let’s not share the trauma to make it a tiny bit easier on ourselves.
We’re all ‘equal’ to men now – so these bodily inconveniences and discomforts just vanish, right? Let’s treat women the same, tax them extra for all the extra things they need. That’s equality. Cause we asked for it, no? We asked to have less. We deserve it. Don’t talk about the stress or about the pain. Be professional – not human. Don’t expect to be treated extra nice! Do you want to be paid less? Do you want to come across as weak? Aren’t you a feminist? Chhi chhi chhi! Women are not weak. Didn’t you watch those ads, where they say that if you wear a Whisper pad, it will make you invincible – even if your insides are stabbing your abdomen and you are throwing up for days after every meal!
Don’t even think about it. It’s shameful to admit you have been struggling and you need help.
Professional spaces are gender-neutral. Women just have to shut up and deal with it. Pretend that you are a man and don’t menstruate. Not that the norms of office behaviour and regulations weren’t made by men, you know? They got updated when women entered the scene. Didn’t you know that? You work – that means patriarchy doesn’t exist anymore. Work-spaces are super egalitarian. Even if your boss touches your butt. Even if you just had a baby and you don’t get the break you need to recover. Geez, you’re a strong, modern woman who can take care of herself! And you should happily accept being treated like trash while thinking that you’re ruling the world, ’cause that’s what the companies need you to think.
Happy Fucking International Working Women’s Day, people – from a not-so-strong woman.
Writing this hurt me physically and mentally. I’m sorry if it’s not perfect. Or maybe, I’m not.
This post was originally published on Facebook.
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.