By 2026, India is expected to have a population of 1.4 billion people, with a menopausal population of 103 million individuals; i.e. more than 7% of the expected aggregate. Yet, India fails to recognise the very phenomenon of menopause and its effects. It is no myth that menstruating individuals exist in India and despite menstruation being a taboo in this nation, a large part of the population is aware about the occurrence of this phenomenon.
Just like their diverse opinions regarding gender equality and whether cows matter more than people, Indians have diversity in their practices, attitudes and prejudices towards menstruation. But what happens after menstruation and what is India doing about it? Let me give you a hint. The answer to the first question is ‘A lot’ and to the second question is, well, nothing.
Activism surrounding menstruation has since long been a part of the feminist movement and countless have joined these discourses. Governments, NGOs, public figures all people from all walks of life have contributed to this cause in all possible ways.
But a major problem that persists in this activism is its target audience.
Most actions taken in the menstrual realm have been targeted towards adolescent girls (mainly in the ages of 10-15 years) in both rural and urban households. Though pivotal, they constitute only a segment of India’s menstrual population. The rest, primarily adult women, have clearly been ignored.
Measures Taken By NGOs
Most NGOs focus on creating awareness in educational and non-educational settings for children and young adults. The infamous ‘sanitary pad distribution’ that is often perceived to be the most successful, plausible and essential method of menstrual activism almost never targets any other menstruating group except adolescent girls.
Measures Taken By The Government
Action in this realm by the Indian State almost exclusively targets adolescent girls in various regions. The Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) under the National Health Mission regulated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare targets adolescent girls of ages 10-19 years, wherein the scheme provides six sanitary napkins for Rs 6 to girls in rural areas.
Measures Taken By Educational Institutions
Most educational institutions in urban and rural localities conduct awareness sessions for menstruating students (primarily girls) within the school set-up to contribute to the cause. But have you ever seen a session being conducted regarding menopause and perimenopause in such spaces? Probably not!
Why Does This Matter?
Menopause and perimenopause are often highly challenging times (sometimes even more than menarche) for menstruators as they experience a drastic change in their physiology and lifestyle. For an individual who has menstruated for more than 30 years, an end to this routine might not be very enjoyable or smooth.
Additionally, we can’t forget that menstrual blood is often perceived as a symbol of womanhood in many cultures and with the taboo attached with menopause, it can easily make a woman feel that she is less of a woman than her younger friends and that she has lost her womanhood. This can leave them anxious about themselves.
Menstruating individuals often experience irregular flows, vaginal dryness, hot flushes, mood swings, weakness, pain and fatigue. Experiencing all these occurrences without any guidance and awareness in no way helps menstruating individuals, instead, it often increases the anxiety attached with menopause, which directly impacts their mental health.
Furthermore, the menopausal population is largely constituted individuals with personal responsibilities and professional commitments (often responsibilities of both the office and the house). This makes dealing with menopause an additional stress for these individuals.
What Can Be Done?
1. Creation of a menopausal policy in India
An ongoing demand, a menopausal policy regulated by the government will not only bring immense recognition to the issue of menopause, but also help menopausing individuals by bringing uniformity in associated activism and ensure a regulatory authority for proper implementation.
2. Menopausal activism
Only caring about adolescent menstruators is very much equivalent to saying that only adolescents menstruate and that menstruation does not affect any other segment of society. NGOs, public figures and citizen contributions are the very foundation of activism. Recognition and actions by these will not just encourage a discourse in all possible social realms, but also give the menopausal population of India a shoulder other than the government to rely on, therefore, relaxing (partially) the state of its responsibilities.
3. Awareness and Education
Existing societal structures render the menopausal population helpless and hopeless, forcing them to believe that they have to deal with this change on their own. By conducting regular awareness sessions, the State, NGOs and educational institutions can destigmatise and recognise the concept of menopause and encourage menopausing individuals to take initiative and become more comfortable with this idea.
Conclusion
Giving greater attention to problems of the youth is undoubtedly beneficial for future, but this attention should not come from absolute negligence of the concerns of other segments of society. By not recognising menopause and its implications, India in every possible way is contributing to gender inequality – working for the future should not equate to forgetting our present.
It is high time that we start caring about the present as it eventually will become our future.