Now everywhere individuals, communities, different institutions, and organizations are talking to raise their voice on periods, but the question is -are women and girls ready to talk about it? Are they ready to raise the voice and smash the stigmas around? Are they ready to fight against the culture of shaming?
Periods Was Always A Hush-Hush Topic At Home And School
I was working in an organization for women and adolescent girls in the Kumbalgarh block, Rajsamand district, to make them aware of their menstrual health and hygiene. There I got to know about a certain hidden wall between the mother and the girl child; they never share their problems with their mother or elder sister/s. They used to talk with their very close friends who also come from the same age, have the same knowledge, innocence, and the same unawareness about it. There was no female teacher to calm their curiosity. Somewhere I was able to relate this with my story when I was a child.
Even though I’m from the city area, my parents are well-educated, my mother is a biology student, she used to ask me and my sister not to eat so many pickles and sour things because that can cause disease and can make us a short-height person.
She never told me about the period thing, because she believed that if she’ll talk about it, then we’ll get our period before the time. I remember the first time I got introduced to the word “period” in my school when I was studying in standard five by my friends who got her period early. We used to make fun of those girls in the classroom with the boys in our innocence or unawareness.
After my first period when I experienced the same pain, frustration, mood swings, I was able to understand their situation, how they used to feel about our unexpected behaviours. Every time I wanted to ask them why they never uttered a single word to us? After so many years, now I think I got the answer. Maybe they were also unaware of this biological process, maybe their mother and elder sister also asked them not to talk regarding this to anyone; maybe her grandmother and mother also introduced it as a shame.
Sanitary Napkins Advertisements Brought About Awkard Silences In The Room
Women themselves don’t have a proper understanding of this biological function; they don’t know what happens to their bodies during this time. They’re only following what they have learned from their mother and are passing the same to their daughters and older female members of the house to ensure its fulfilment. In short, we are blindly following the line of ant in which we learned talking about the period is something uncivilized.
According to a study “Menstrual Hygiene Management among Adolescent Girls in India” conducted in 2016 which involved 100,000 girls in India, it was found that 50,000 girls didn’t understand menstruation until they had their first period. They don’t understand what is happening to them, they think it is a fatal disease.
I remember an incident when I was at my relative’s house for a dinner night. After dinner, my mom was in the ladies’ room where they can freely talk about their husbands and in-laws. And I was in the room where we didn’t have any topic but could enjoy watching TV and male members were trying to find topics to break the silence. Suddenly an advertisement arrived and there was an awkward silence in the room, male members and uncle’s 22 years aged daughter were trying to not watch the television and meanwhile, she asked me to change the channel.
I was unable to understand and gave the remote to her as she changed the channel. Do you imagine what that advertisement was like? That ad was referring to the use of sanitary napkins during menstruation with the message that the pads will protect them, save them, and boost their confidence. My younger brothers don’t understand why she changed their favourite cartoon channel by giving strange reactions.
After that, I learned not to watch that advertisement in front of my father and brothers. I used to engage myself by seeing here and there or by doing something nonsense because I didn’t have a choice to shift the channel, there was only one TV channel available. It took almost 4-5 years to understand why these things need to be hidden because we bleed and some cultural perceptions taught us to smuggle the pads to the bathroom like it’s some sort of illegal drug.
Who Is Strengthening Stigma Attached To A Women’s Body?
Who makes such cultural perceptions and takes them forward from one generation to another? Who is strengthening the stigma attached to the women’s body? The only answer I found is a woman herself. Our father, brother, male friends don’t feel that shy about buying the sanitary napkin from the shop as we girls do. Ever wondered why shopkeepers never keep sanitary napkins covered in the shop and use newspapers and black polybags while giving to us? Who taught a shopkeeper to wrap the sanitary napkin into a paper or black polybag? We’re the ones who asked them to do so and they learned it and followed the same.
In some families, women are not allowed to set foot outside the house. They don’t want to share about their period even to their husbands in their shyness and they use traditional rags under that compulsion. Out of shame, they use the rags and wash and dry them secretly, and put them into the dark place where no one has access. Because of this, they suffer from the main health-related problems. I’m not talking about rural areas or city areas and literate or illiterate people; this is the problem of the majority of Indian women.
We Are The Ones Who Can Change The Language And Change Our Story
Many studies revealed that drop out and absenteeism increase during menstruation amongst adolescent girls because of lack of facilities or a lack of information or a lack of sanitary products, this was observed by me also during my field visits and interaction with adolescents. Even government schools are providing sanitary napkins free of cost to the girls in a government school but they feel ashamed to take it and all effort goes into the garbage.
There is a need for proper education for girls aged 11-16years about menstrual hygiene and safeguards, and trained female teachers or health counsellors in schools on a weekly or a monthly basis to resolve their issues and to calm their curiosity. On the one hand, we are asking people to talk about these things and on the other hand, we’re the only one who is hiding the things. Until the matter is revealed, how will it be talked about?
Let the things come out and give them a chance to keep their points and be ready to talk about it and change their negative perceptions. These negative perceptions and stigmas only can be changed by discussing it, keeping it private is not going to work for us and our coming generations. We are the ones who can sensitize society and the male members that it is not something to be ashamed of.
Not having a good or regular period or not having it is a matter of health concern. Even to break the taboos surrounding menstruation and to raise awareness of the importance of good menstrual hygiene ‘Menstrual Hygiene Day’ is celebrated annually. Women should understand the stigma is not going to be solved by talking on a global level. This is something which we need to talk about on a personal level, first we women need to understand our biological function and social stigmas then need to discuss with others.