Periods-not a taboo anymore

Menstruation, periods, chumming. We all have come across these words in our lives but people mostly talk about it in hushed tones as if it were a punishable offense to even mention these words loudly. It is most certainly a taboo to talk about these subject in public and I want to contribute in a small way in eradicating this taboo. A girl experiences periods for the "most part of her life" starting from the age of 10-12 which lasts up to the age of 45-50 on an average (although it may vary depending from person to person) and yet we do not talk about it openly. So let us start a conversation and normalize this because it is a natural process and there is nothing to be ashamed of. I got the courage to speak about it in public domain all thanks to our Prime Minister Modi ji who on this 15th of August spoke about it from the Red Fort, Delhi and the whole nation applauded and welcomed the news about biodegradable sanitary napkins being provided to 5 crore women at Re.1 through 6000 Janaushadhi centers and I feel extremely proud of our government for taking up this issue so seriously. I hope this will bring a much needed positive change in our society. 

Image courtesy Getty Images

What are periods? In very simple words, it is a process when the blood and tissue builds up in the uterus to prepare for a fertilized egg and if the egg doesn't get fertilized then, this blood along with the tissue lining leaves through the vagina which is called periods (as it happens periodically). This process happens every month for about 2-7 days depending on various factors. A girl has to use a proper hygienic method such as a sanitary pad or a tampon for maintaining hygiene during her periods. 

Sadly, in our country less than 20% of women use sanitary pads or other methods such as tampons or menstrual cups. Most of them use cloths or old rags especially in rural areas which leads to severe complications in menstrual health such as urinary tract infection, vaginal infections and rashes and sometimes these issue lead to infertility as well. Moreover, these women have to hide these cloths so that people don't see it therefore it doesn't even get exposed to sunlight and these women re-use these soiled cloths leading to deadly infection. There are many myths and superstition related to periods such as a girl is considered impure while she menstruating and is not allowed to enter the kitchen or religious places. A woman is prohibited from offering prayers and touching holy books. It is also believed that the food prepared by a menstruating woman gets contaminated because she is considered unclean and that the body emits certain rays during these days which leads to spoilage of food hence they are not allowed to touch it. There are certain parts in our country where women who are menstruating are sent to exile in a  Menstrual Hut which is a poorly built shed with zero to minimum ventilation and sanitation and these huts cannot withstand heavy rains or frosty winters and women are subjected to such mental and physical trauma and many of them die in there alone. These women become victims of animal attacks, snake bites and even sexual violence which is extremely horrific. I cannot even begin to think about the kind of torture these women go through. Periods stains are also made fun of in school or in public places. The stains are looked at, as if bleeding is some sort of a crime. It is a natural biological process and its completely normal to get stains due to leakage. It is just blood, a bodily fluid. Imagine someone getting hit by a car on the road in an accident and the person starts bleeding. Periods are exactly like that except in this case a woman is hit by biology. Millions of girls drop out of school after hitting puberty because of many reasons such as lack of basic sanitary products, lack in awareness on menstruation, poor infrastructure in schools. Government needs to take some actions to combat these issues by spreading awareness on this subject, providing basic access to sanitary products and improving reproductive health of adolescent girls. I remember when I was in school in 7th or 8th grade, girls are boys were called separately to talk on this subject. The women who were supposed to enlighten us about periods did their job in the worst possible way and we all felt extremely awkward in that session and nobody spoke about it as if it were Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and they were talking about 'He who must not be named.' Today as I write this I am questioning their decision, their method of teaching and the whole point of co-ed schools while giving a facepalm. Even the medical store guy used to give me looks while giving my sanitary pads wrapped firstly in a newspaper and then a black plastic bag as if it he were smuggling drugs to me. Even people around me gave weird looks but I choose to ignore them now (I especially make sure everyone knows that I am buying pads). Girls and boys both generally shy away from discussing this subject hence community based education can be helpful in achieving this task. 

Apart from the physical pain that a woman goes through, making her go through all these baseless traditions is often followed by a toll on their mental health and they lack self esteem, self worth and self confidence. I wonder about this many times that in a country like ours where we pray to Goddesses,  treats its women like this. I will put emphasis on this again that menstruation is a natural process and that a woman needs to be supported during this time (not that we are weak but the hormones go haywire and we cannot think straight sometimes!)

Television also plays an important role in our lives in spreading awareness on taboo subjects. There are certain advertisements for sanitary pads and over the years those ads haven't changed a bit. All the brands show the same damn thing over and over again. A young woman on her periods wears the pad and for no reason gets over the top 'Ranveer Singh level' excitement and starts jumping and dancing as if she is high or something. And let me tell you it doesn't happen in real life. A girl gets irritated during these days and she feels like wearing her Pj's, eating her favorite food and sleeping. Basically, we become a sloth bear and not some psycho person who wants to climb mountains during periods. The worst part is when the people in the ad say "Un dino" I always wonder at the irony that they are suposed to sell a pad and cannot even say the word "Periods". Also what is up with the color of the blood in these commercials???!!! Don't they know that we bleed blue only when India is playing against Pakistan? Or may be they want to convey that the pads are so expensive that only people having blue blood can afford it? Anyway coming back to the point, it is partly a responsibility of the ad makers to show something realistic so that the viewer who has no knowledge about it gets some idea about it and that is how one can start a conversation.    

Gladly, there are many NGOs who are working on spreading awareness on menstrual health via street plays, comic books, making documentaries, giving ted talks etc. I was watching a documentary on Netflix called "Period. End of Sentence" and I got extremely shocked and it broke my heart to hear the boys saying that period is some kind of a disease. Therefore spreading awareness about it is the only way to combat the ignorance of the people.  

On one hand we have these regressive practices and myths surrounding this subject while on the other hand in certain parts of our country, a girl is worshiped the first time she has her periods. I remember one of my friends telling me that when her grandmother had her first period there was a procession in the whole village and everyone celebrated it. Even I have this vague memory of my mother offering puja when I had my first period as a symbol of celebration which I am sure was passed on to her via her mother. I belong to a pandit family where pooja path is a daily affair. It must have been extremely difficult for them to evolve with this society for the sake of their daughter. I have seen my own family getting evolved on this subject and I'd like to thank them for making such huge progress.   

I am not a medical personnel but I would like to share some very important things regarding maintaining hygiene and menstrual health from what I have learnt over the years. The sanitary pads and the tampons that we use are not good for our environment since they take years to decompose therefore use biodegradable pads if you can afford it. One method that I came across was a silicone based menstrual cup which is like one time investment and it can be used for over 10 years but it takes certain number of cycles to get accustomed to it (Go watch some trustworthy YouTube videos on it!) Then there are certain cotton based cloth pads which can be washed and re-used which do not seem very viable but are worth the try. It is important to learn how to dispose a used sanitary pad because the people who come to collect the garbage might get exposed to these pads and fall sick. Therefore, a Red Dot campaign was launched to sensitize people on this issue which asks the people to wrap the pad in a newspaper and put a red dot on it which makes them easier to separate the garbage. Some brands also provide separate disposal pouches. It is important to bring this change consciously as habits takes time to change. Change your pads and tampons often otherwise there is a chance of getting infection and in worst cases toxic shock syndrome. Keep the area dry and clean and use cotton underpants to let the skin breathe. Surprisingly I came across a fun facts that our vagina has a natural cleaning mechanism and it naturally balances it Ph levels so there is no need to use any special products available in the market just simply use an unscented soap and tap water. Exercise regularly especially women who have PCOD or PCOS because it has adverse effect on your hormone level which leads to many physical and psychological issues. Get yourself checked by a gynecologist from time to time because women tend to get tardy when it comes to their health. If you experience any anomaly in the process such as late periods its my humble request to consult your doctor. Educate yourself, educate your kids irrespective of their genders and spread awareness as and when possible because it is high time that we talk about it openly. 

Let us make this country and its women empowered once again because the base of any society is its women and if the base isn't strong the structure is bound to collapse. Let us all collectively create a period positive environment for our girls.