Menstruation Huts: A Period Taboo That Unfortunately, Remains In Use
Editor’s Note: This article is a part of #Periodपाठ, a campaign by Youth Ki Awaaz in collaboration with WSSCC, to highlight the need for better menstrual hygiene management among menstruating persons in India. Join the conversation to take action and demand change! The views expressed in this article are the author’s and are not necessarily the views of the partners.Editor’s Note: This article is a part of #Periodपाठ, a campaign by Youth Ki Awaaz in collaboration with WSSCC, to highlight the need for better menstrual hygiene management among menstruating persons in India. Join the conversation to take action and demand change! The views expressed in this article are the author’s and are not necessarily the views of the partners.“Oh my god! Did she just use the word period?”
“Don’t say it loudly”
“What will people think?”
“Sshhh”
I used the word period: a biological phenomenon where people with uterus bleed every month. It is no big deal. However, for some people, the word is still a taboo. People cannot fathom that women bleed every month. They consider her to be impure and cursed. Women on their period are considered nothing less as ‘untouchables.’
They are not allowed to enter kitchens, temples and sometimes their own houses. They are the same people who fail to understand the pain that comes along with menstruation.
Chaupadis are raised mud platforms covered with hay. In some communities, when women are on their periods, they are forced to stay in these mud houses. They are not allowed to leave the hut until their periods end and are supposed to stay isolated throughout!
Menstruation huts seem like an extreme step, but they’re simply the tip of the iceberg that affects women’s education, empowerment, literacy, health, and working life in many different societies worldwide.
This is still practised in most of the remote parts of India, Uganda and places as diverse as Bali and Nigeria. This perfectly natural phenomenon is demonised, thus creating real damage to women around the world.
They are forced to use hay or leaves as sanitary napkins. Using unclean products instead of hygienic alternatives leads to fungal infections, ovarian cancer, urinary infections and can even make you vulnerable to infertility.
Nothing is more misogynistic than not supporting women on their periods.
Menstrual Hygiene Matters
Women should be supported while they are on their periods. They should be provided with nutritious food and suitable sanitary napkins. Women are important contributors to this world. God could not be everywhere; hence he made such beautiful creatures like women. Having such an orthodox mindset is nothing but destruction for the future.
Let’s support individuals with a uterus on their periods and help them get through one of the most uncomfortable times of their lives.