In February 2020, the Indian Supreme Court’s landmark ruling permitted women to take up command roles in the army. Women will now get the same opportunities as their male counterparts, through promotions and pensions, serve longer tenures, and esteemed ranks.
This mandate was obstructed by a lot of conservative arguments put forth by the Indian government, including army women’s “prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood and domestic obligations towards their children and families“. Nevertheless, we are one step ahead of giving women access to equal opportunities in the army; and sooner or later, the fight to deploy them in combat may come to fruition.
This watershed ruling also sparked the conversation about menstruation being a ‘hindrance’ in deploying women in the army. While it is the bitter truth, it is not an issue that is impossible to deal with.
An article titled ‘9 Important Things to Know for Women Who Want to Join Indian Army’ by DailyHunt mentions that “Having your period is something you can manage pretty much most of the time. However, this condition in the middle of your training is still yours to deal with since your instructor, training, and practice have nothing to do with it.”
What stuns me about this statement is the casual undertone that brings about the sheer insensitivity of it – treating menstruation as an individual burden and not as a part of the female anatomy.
In my opinion, this same mindset must be prevalent across multiple institutions like the military – which is why there are no programs in place to make the environment inclusive for menstruators.
This statement acquaints us with the subversion of menstruation within the military. The saga of menstruation in the military may vary from country to country, depending on the menstruator and various circumstances; this article is, therefore, a gradient of general-specific commentary.
Your instructor, training, and practice have everything to do with it.
Menstruation comes with its own mental and physical pain, and this is mostly bound to affect a woman’s operational abilities. When I spoke to a friend whose sister is a part of the Indian military, she offered me some insight into how menstruators are affected.
She said, “They lose their cycles because of the rigorous training. The mental and physical stress is so much that many of them don’t get their periods for months, a year, or sometimes even two years!”
After more research, I found that this is a common problem faced by deployed women across borders. Erratic menstruation can leave them ill-prepared to plan ahead in case of any accidents, leaks, or hassles. For many, the bleeding also intensifies, and for the ones with menstrual disorders, the struggles are stratospheric.
A survey conducted by The Women’s Health Task Force, a program of the U.S. Army Surgeon-General, explores the problems faced by women in the military:
- It is difficult to tend to vaginal hygiene during menstrual cycles in port-a-potty facilities. A lack of privacy, shower, and laundry facilities makes them more prone to vaginal and urinary tract infections.
- Research shows that physical and emotional stress affects the menstrual cycles and poses them at the risk of vaginal infections.
Yet, women are unstoppable. Asiaone reached out to an all-female group of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Volunteer Corps. These women went through a strenuous two-week course in a forest with “no proper toilet, running water and rubbish bin.” From having to drag through mud-soaked pads to carrying their used pads with themselves for days with no place to dispose of— they’ve surmounted the unimaginable.
An anonymous female army regular shares her experience, “Sometimes [the pain] can be quite bad till I’ll squat on the floor and feel like vomiting all the time, but life goes on. I still need to be strong to conduct my lessons and look out for my men and trainees.”
The taboos around menstruation are being dismantled gradually, but, we have a long way to go. Women may often hesitate to voice their health concerns within the military fraternity, so as to refrain from adding to the notion that women aren’t ‘fit’ to serve in the military.
The ‘menses police’ may use menstruation as an excuse to banish women from the military. However, there is a solution to this— menstrual suppression.
Menstrual Suppression
“Menstrual suppression is a treatment that uses medication to reduce or stop menstrual periods. Under the care of a doctor, this is a safe option for all girls, teens and young women once they have already had at least one menstrual period.”
The treatment is prescribed to a person after a thorough examination by a doctor. Periods can be suppressed with the use of oral contraceptives, progestin-containing intrauterine devices (IUD), and more.
A paper by Obstetrics & Gynecology found that many women would like to resort to menstrual suppression but aren’t able to access it due to the following primary reasons:
- Because of the prohibition on sexual intercourse, while deployed, women are counselled to not take contraceptives.
- There is a lack of awareness and education about menstrual suppression among women and health providers.
Takeaways
I would advocate for medical care and counselling regarding menstruation and hygiene management for menstruators in the military service. Menstrual management programs and training should be made mandatory in the military to help menstruators adjust to these special conditions.
There needs to be more education and awareness around this. Menstruators need to be given the liberty to choose menstrual suppression. A move like this will help us eliminate any sex-specific barriers and give military women the representation that they deserve.