PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE.
‘There are a lot of things that still needs to be changed. A lot needs to change.’
Last year (in 2019) the film (documentary): PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE, directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, produced by Milessa Berton, won the Academy for Best Documentary Short Subject. There are a few lines from the film which is the actual scenario -still existing- in a few urban cities, and the worst of the same in the rural parts of the country.
The daughter never talks to her mother. If your daughter is unable to fill the void, the space, between the conversation as such, take charge and lead. Rather than just helping them with a sanitary pad (unprivileged have to use clothes) by just saying mere sentences as it might pain in your lower abdomen, your thighs, your stomach, maybe no pain sometimes, and giving instructions how to use it, take a step forward and talk to them and explain a little more.
Tell them with patience how to use the sanitary pad, every step. Just do!
Tell them not to worry and be afraid (until they are larger than a quarter in size and occur frequently) when they come across menstrual clots. Do some research or use metaphorical or any sort of figure speech to explain what it is for their better understanding.
Tell them that there will be times when they will not want to eat anything, tell them that there will be times when they will crave for food.
Tell them they might want to cry at times as such. It is a part of the cycle. That they can get nostalgic on things that happened years ago can make them break down, frequently, during these times.
Tell them they might also develop frequent headaches.
Tell them that it may end within four days, or take seven. That it might occur twice in a month (ONLY IF cycles are on the shorter end of the spectrum else take necessary action).
Avoid telling them that they cannot oil their hair or not take care of their hair unlike other days, avoid telling them that they have to shampoo their hair only on third or the fourth day.
Avoid telling them that they cannot exercise when they are on periods.
Avoid telling them that they cannot enter the kitchen during these times.
Avoid telling them that they cannot worship or preach to God during these times.
Avoid telling them the colour they should only wear should be something dark. The list is actually long.
Wife never talks to the husband. Hey man (don’t start with not-all-men crap out here if you’re wishing to)! Give some space to your woman and let her talk about it. She might wish to tell you her first period (the embarrassing one, the educating one, the one where she legit rocked, et cetera) story. You can stop making fun of her mood swings, sorry but the mood swing is not restricted to women only. You do not have to be over possessive regarding that.
Just let her discuss if she wishes to, you never know.
Friends don’t talk to each other. Dear classmates and friends, regardless of your gender, that girl did not get a notification that her period is going to appear out of nowhere.
Stop making fun and doing khee-khee-khee when you see blood strains on her skirt or dress. Educate your younger or ‘grown-up in just age’ elder sisters and brothers about this.
Help and support when you encounter a case as such.
Not just in educational institutions, anywhere on this Earth you can encounter a situation as such, take charge and support her [by not ridiculing and mocking her].
And you, girl, do a favour on yourself, talk to your friends. Maybe other girl friends of yours were waiting for you to open up first.
And, irrespective of your gender, keep your intentions right then ask in detail of such things. Just for fun with a blend of filthiness if you are going to ask anything on such things, trust me, some people get the vibes -remember the difference between bad and good touch? That kind of vibe ‘am talking about.
Menstruation is the biggest taboo in our country. Sadly, these myths and restrictions just do not exist in rural areas but it is widespread in some urban areas of India as well. Now that we have malls (compared to the numbers we had earlier), we can buy it without writing it on a piece of paper.
But not everyone has a mall nearby. To them (especially women), please speak aloud that you need a sanitary pad packet or a menstrual cup. If you will only shy away, I do not know what else we will be left with.
And also, women out there, stop making faces and doing Ew! when someone says they are so happy that they got their periods.
Stop taking it with a disgust. You have your own opinion that you do not like periods. But stop poking your nose and putting other women down when they find period as a blessing. Ever heard about freaking PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), the problems women with PCOS have to face -irregular periods is one of them. The fluctuation because of PCOS is disastrous that for months the period goes missing, and there are times when it occurs twice in one month, heard ever?
You will never know the bliss of having a period. But oh! Some of you are busy shaming women for having PCOS even. Beats me!
There was a debate going on social media back in 2019 (read, YouTube) when the news, ‘In Scotland Parliament has just approved plans to make sanitary products freely available to all women, being the first country in the world to do this. That law would make tampons and sanitary pads available at designated public places such as, youth clubs and pharmacies. In 2018, Scotland became the first country in the world to provide free sanitary products in school colleges and universities’, came up.
Unsurprisingly when it was made tax-free in India (formerly, 12% GST), there were numerous protests made.
Stop making fun of PERIOD POVERTY. It is a worldwide phenomenon, some of us are privileged and lucky enough to take for granted. Period poverty refers to having a lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints.
Note: Arunachalam Muruganantham (Padman) is a social entrepreneur from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. He is the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and is credited for innovating grassroots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein solely are that of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or opinions of any other agency, organization, employer or society as a whole. If you disagree with something, I would welcome a discussion. It would be my privilege to learn from what you have to say.
PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE.
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