By: Gaurika Sharma
Edited by: Pruthvi and Namitha
‘Code red, Red wedding, Shark week, Aunt Flo and Girl flu’ all these refer to a common thing - menstruation or “periods”. These aren’t the regular school periods I am talking about, but the monthly vaginal blood flow in women.
“Periods or chums” are a part of the reproductive cycle that takes place in females. They are inevitable and their occurrence is uncontrollable. But even in the twenty-first century, which is progressing to be an “empowerment phase” for women, menstrual taboos haven’t been broken. This has made life harsh for many women. While many sections of society are living in the present, the others have decided to hold on to the past.
The number of days periods last is different for different women. They range from 2 to 8 days and in some cases, even more. During this time, women are considered to be impure.
They are excluded from social and religious activities and are not allowed to enter places of worship, as they may pollute the holy place where God is resting.
Menstruation is considered as a ‘dirty and shameful event’, even though it is a natural occurrence that has been reasoned out by science. In the 1930s, some western scientists had hypothesized that menstruating women’s body produced “menotoxins”, which is a kind of poison. However, this was fallacious and all that really comes out is regular blood and tissue.
In Nepal, women and girls are prohibited from cooking and are required to spend the night outside their homes. Some cultures prohibit women from washing their genital area during menstruation, which could lead to vaginal infections. In some parts of Afghanistan, it is believed that washing the body during menstruation could lead to infertility when in reality it is absolutely false. But all that these taboos prove is that our society is uneducated and falls prey to superstitions.
Many parents don’t know how to educate teenage girls about periods. This leads to a lack of conversation about it. According to a study, 71% of the adolescent girls in India are unaware of chums, until ‘menarche’ (first period). This leads to anxiety and fear of social rejection in women. In most schools, during the body awareness seminars, girls and boys are separated.
In my opinion, this doesn’t create much awareness, as boys need to be informed about periods! Due to these separate talks in lower classes, there is an uncomfortable atmosphere between all the students on the topic of periods. Most girls are uncomfortable in casually removing a pad from their school bag because they might draw unnecessary attention to them.
So, they end up hiding the pad in their pockets and rush to the washroom, acting like they are escaping after committing a crime. Several times in school, girls end up making excuses for their inability to participate in events because of ‘period cramps’ to avoid any awkward situations.
India earlier had placed a 12% tax on sanitary products. In Australia, 10% of GST was applied to tampons and other sanitary products. Fortunately, both these countries, Canada and Malaysia removed these taxes in 2018
Nevada, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and Florida have removed tampon tax in the USA.
Scotland recently made history, by making menstrual products free in public facilities, as a step towards reducing period poverty. This implies that period products will be available for free in public buildings, including schools and universities throughout Scotland.
But what was the necessity of such a tax in the first place? While some say that these products are a necessity and therefore, should be tax-free, others argue that they generate revenue for the government and thus, should be taxed. Even so, tampon tax adds to the hardships faced by poorer women.
Firstly, pads and other sanitary products are a luxury for rural women. Many females in the villages in India use soil, old clothes, leaves, or even ash to soak up the blood. Such activities are gravely unhygienic and can cause various uterine infections. Now imagine life for these women along with the additional taxes. It just becomes worse! While women are most likely to stay at home, their husbands feel embarrassed when they have to buy pads. The pads are discreetly handed out to the husbands by the chemist in a corner, as though they are dealing with drugs. In addition to that, due to the period cramps, females suffer a lot of pain which makes them unable to do many physical activities and end up being labeled as “weak”.
However, educated people have slowly taken up measures to make lives better for females. Movies such as “Pad man” and documentaries like “Period. End of Sentence”, were made to create awareness about menstruation and break menstrual taboos. Many educated females have started to share their stories on social media which assured others that they are not alone in this. Many NGOs have been set up to support the financially weaker women and provide them with sanitary products. Men are slowly becoming more understanding and supportive, and they too are actively taking part in creating awareness about menstruation.
As mentioned earlier, the situation becomes awkward about mentioning periods. Have you ever wondered why? I believe that this is pure because of the lack of effective communication among girls and boys. Now, a question will arise as to how do we sort out this problem? The answer may be difficult for some, but it is not impossible. It is through communicating, opening up, and talking about “periods”. If your stomach is hurting during class, get up and tell the teacher clearly as to why it is hurting. Take out a pad from your bag and casually walk with it. You might feel awkward in the beginning, but believe me, once you start, you’ll realize that it’s not a big deal!
In your peer group, feel free to talk about “periods” and do not shy away because of a presence of a boy. Don’t be afraid! You are not committing a crime by talking about your periods. And to all the boys, if your friend talks to you about her period, do not make her feel uncomfortable for sharing it. Just be cool and casual about it. If we slowly start working on effective communication and creating an open environment, such awkward situations won’t be created.
Rural folks need to have basic information, as to what periods truly are. If they are provided with that, then menstrual taboos won’t be in existence any longer.
Menstruation isn’t unethical, poisonous, disgraceful or impure. It is simply something that women have no choice but to deal with. If people truly understand its occurrence and open up their minds, they will realize that it is not a big deal, but it is we who are making it one.
Read more:
Comments