Amidst the classes, a call was announced to each girl of the class to gather in the computer lab. Unaware of the fact what was all about, the girls moved to the lab. That was the first day, an 11-year-old got introduced to her own body process.
She was warned that age was going to be difficult, you would notice changes. Don’t keep secrets but yes, don’t yell about it in public. While the changes were normal, they were to be restricted to murmurs and not announcements. Her head swirling with confusing thoughts, she asked her senior about the changes, but she just ignored her shyly. Why were we supposed to hide it? She still didn’t know.
Throwing her bag in the corner once she got home, she took her mother to the room and asked her about it. Her mother added more spice to this secret, yet her doubts were not clear. Why does every girl bleed in a month, and why must she not talk about it like it’s a disease?
She was 13, and hardly remembered the do’s and don’ts she had been taught two years ago. She did have a few encounters with such talks with her classmates who were going through the monthly cycle. Now that day, it was her chance to be a part and invest her experience in those talks.
The morning, sore eyes in the washroom became red by watching the blood. No, it wasn’t a cut or a bruise. It’s normal, she knew that. But she cried because she was afraid of leaving her favourite sport badminton. They say you can’t do a lot of sports once you start bleeding. It was frightening for her to imagine sitting in the corner of the class while everyone giggled because the blood stains on her skirt might be the next exhibition for everyone in the class. She was struggling with the fear of not entering a holy place. What if she does, will she be cursed?
Her fears were not fertile, they were just the foundation of coming regulations being imposed on being a girl.
This is how a teenager girl gets introduced to herself, is this process a right way to tell her about her physical changes?