Human beings are entitled to certain basic and natural rights that define a meaningful existence. These rights have been designated to be universal in application, inalienable in exercise and inherent to all persons. For a menstruator to have access to sanitary products, a clean environment to change, access to water and medicines shouldn’t be a hard fact to digest as a human rights issue.
The ability of menstruators to practice good menstrual hygiene cuts to the heart and dignity of gender equality. Human rights principles include equality, no discrimination, transparency, access to information, participation and accountability.
Menstruation, an essential part of the reproductive cycle, is ignored as if it doesn’t exist. It is intrinsically related to human dignity because when people do not have safe and effective means of managing their menstrual hygiene, they are not able to manage their menstruation with dignity. The social stigma attached to the topic, and exclusion from society due to it, further creates separation and isolation.
Lack of information leads to damaging misconceptions and sometimes no information at all, as can be observed from a 2016 study titled Menstrual Hygiene Management Among Teenage Girls In India. Nearly 100,000 girls in India were surveyed and out of them, over 50,000 did not know about menstruation till they got their first period. A major problem that persists in surveys such as this is that they only consider women and girls as menstruators, while disregarding trans and non-binary folks, who also menstruate and face menstrual issues.
Cases of exclusion and separation faced by menstruators in India are many and the factors leading to oppression are endless Some of these factors are: cultural beliefs, the pre-constructed mindset of accepting stereotypical ideas such as ‘periods is a disease’, ‘people on their periods are impure’ or that food prepared by menstruating women is contaminated. According to a study by Anant Kumar and Kamiya Srivastava in 2011 to find out the socio-cultural taboos and beliefs regarding menstruation, they got to know that people believe their body emits a specific smell or a ‘ray’ that turns food bad.
The existence of such thoughts makes it hard to believe that we are moving towards development and growth. Globally, 2.3 billion people lack basic sanitation facilities and just 27% of the population in the least developed countries have a handwashing facility at home with water and soap. Most adolescents in India rely heavily on their female influencers, particularly mothers, for information on menstruation. However, mothers either do not know or feel uncomfortable discussing menstruation; their advice is often limited to period management and tends to reinforce negative beliefs.
According to the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), for every individual to have dignified periods, there are rights guaranteed to them globally such as:
- Right to health
- Right to education
- Right to work
- Right to non-discrimination and gender equality
- Right to water and sanitation
The Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law.” The meaning of ‘right to life’ includes right to human dignity, right to basic requirements of life, right to participate in activities and expression, right to tradition, heritage and culture and so on.
The meaning of right to life and personal liberty is broad and embraces many aspects. However, when we look at Article 39 of the Indian Constitution, there are certain principles of policy to be followed by the state, one of them being that citizens have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.
Over 636 million Indians do not have access to toilets and more than 72% of rural people relieve themselves behind bushes, in fields or by the roadside. Limited access to functioning toilets remains a barrier and disproportionately impacts people on their periods. People with disabilities face additional challenges with menstrual hygiene and are affected due to lack of access to proper functioning toilets and materials to manage their periods.
Such reports question the very importance of improvisation of menstrual hygiene management that is led by many Ministries in India but isn’t their top priority. Gender inequality in policymaking and low representation in decision-making bodies have resulted in a lack of effective management. In December 2015, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation released the National Guidelines for Menstrual Hygiene Management with support from UNICEF India to elevated the urgency for an integrated approach to improve MHM. However, the biggest problem lies in the poor implementation of policies.
Training teachers, community health workers and organising important seminars from the beginning to spread awareness will have a huge impact on the masses and play a huge role in the eradication of myths and beliefs that have existed in our society for ages. Support innovation of products that are environment-friendly, easily accessible and affordable, given the environmental concerns with disposal pads.
Managing menstruation with safety, privacy and dignity shouldn’t come under the discussion of being ‘something extra’ that people want. It is as important as any other right that each and every individual is guaranteed. Normalising the topic of periods and access to basic facilities is important. The ability to exercise choice, access accurate and pragmatic information on periods for everyone, and important discussions for eradication of taboos and myths on menstruation is important and, in order to work on this, open acceptance of the topic ‘periods’ is substantial.
Note: The author is a part of the current batch of the #PeriodParGyan Writer’s Training Program