The problems with menstruation in India are like a chain of command- related to each other. There is no awareness of menstruation; hence it is considered dirty. Being a ‘dirty’ occurrence, a menstruating girl is isolated or forced to drop out of school as, unlike in urban areas, access to sanitary napkins in rural areas is low.
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This cycle continues from mother to daughter, so the taboo on menstruation remains. A 2016 study titled – ‘Menstrual Hygiene Management Among Adolescent Girls in India’ involving nearly 100,000 girls in India; found that almost 50,000 did not know about menstruation until the first time they got their period. They thought they caught a disease. Girls were confused, ashamed, and terrified. Some didn’t tell anyone for days due to fear and embarrassment. They simply did not know what was happening.
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An incident took place a few years ago when 70 students, aged 10, were strip-searched by the warden. When asked why she did it, the warden said, “I am like their guardian. If I ask them something like this or check them, I have not committed a crime.”
You see, that’s the kind of authority we think we have on women’s bodies. But when it comes to actually give them basic products to live healthy lives, it is not a problem enough. We make several essential commodities tax-free, but sanitary products are considered a luxury.
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The next time we hear the word 'menstruation', we must not feel alarmed or uncomfortable, we must talk about it openly, and teach young girls and boys to do the same.
Myths and Misinformation Around Menstrual Health
Life Account
"Why are you crying, don't spoil the show."
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The girl who was going to ramp walk with me said this to me as soon as she saw the uncontrollable tears running through my rosy cheeks. I was around seven years old when I had to first speak in front of an audience. I was confident and confided in my conscientious practice. Unfortunately, I had to sit through and watch my father argue with my mother on our way to the competition. I reacted to this situation by forgetting everything on the stage.
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This childhood trauma haunted me for years. I could never muster the courage to speak in front of people. I was constantly bullied and scolded as if I was nonchalant. Nevertheless, I never gave up. I decided to get up from the fall and climb again and keep climbing till I reach my destination.
One of my teachers once said to me "Speak what you feel and let the world see you."
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As a fruitful outcome, my fear transformed into a determination to express myself creatively. The only way to defeat the stigma around emotional issues is to stay strong and believe in yourself so that you can prove to the world that you are capable. Misery would keep on following us somehow, instead of faring it be ready to fight it. Lastly do not forget to fantasize all the good moments of your life.
What Does Freedom Mean to me?
I have grown up listening to men telling me how I must conduct myself and what is morally right and wrong.
To me, the feeling of freedom and my duty toward the emancipation of mankind is the most important thing in life.
Born in an arbitrary society, I often feel as if I'm strangled with chains that pull me down, every time I try to move forward. In my society girls are told to live by the rules society has made for them.
Society now feels like nothing more than a cage.
This is why to me freedom is crucial. The freedom to be able to speak what I feel, accomplish what I want, be able to wear what I want, do what I want to do, and live my life on my terms without people preaching about what is expected from me.
The feeling of dismay which comes with the fact that somewhere out there lives of some women are even harder than mine enlightens an urge in me to help others liberate themselves.
More About the Author
I would describe myself as a person who longs for freedom. I am a woman who was brought up in a predominantly patriarchal society which naturally makes me someone who stands up against the wrong.
I am a girl who has been fighting all her life for the opportunities I received. I am a person who is determined to bring a change to this world. This isn't just a passing comment but something I understand as the sole purpose of my life. My mother holds my hand when I feel low and tells me I am her shot at living life the way she wanted to herself. She says she wants to live her dreams of succeeding in life through me.
"You saved my life"
I never knew how jubilant it makes one feel to hear these words and the reason behind them. When my friend came to me expressing his mental agony I counseled him and reached out to understand how one must help a person who is suicidal. The day he said these words to me, the feeling was perhaps, the one that a soldier gets when he protects; a police officer gets when they rescue; a doctor gets when he saves a life.
This justifies something I am most proud of in myself, the ability to understand what others feel and help them out of it.