Today, I was going through my vocabulary notes and suddenly stopped at the word ‘whisper’, which means ‘to speak very softly using one’s breath rather than one’s throat, especially for the sake of secrecy.’ After reading this, the Whisper company that makes sanitary pads came to my mind, and with it came the memory of all the times, I saw my relatives, parents or neighbours carry pads in an opaque bag (usually black).
I could recall them hush up about sanitary pads at home so that children don’t see them or hear about them. They would take out the pads at night and hide them as if they’re a weapon or something illegal, that they shouldn’t be seen carrying around and must be kept in a secret place.
Despite movies such as Pad Man and many social awareness campaigns on the awareness of periods, pads are still considered something that ought to be hidden and talked about in secrecy.
I still recall this horrible incident. I was in Class 9 when a girl in my class had her first period. She was drenched in blood and the teacher in the classroom then treated her like she had done something wrong, while everyone else laughed. She took about a month to return to school, and it would perhaps take her whole life to recover from the incident.
The word ‘Whisper’ spelt on sanitary pad packages reminds me that a natural phenomenon like the menstrual cycle is still a taboo in India. It’s still considered a stigma. Even educated people try not to discuss it and just ‘whisper’ about it. It’s high time we stop whispering and speak out, shout and roar about this biological process. It’s time we teach our children and society that whispering is not required.
Indeed famous brands such as ‘Whisper’ must stand up, roar and shout!