Menstruation a forbidden topic for Indian girls

My mother told me what menstruation was when I was very young, even though it would be years before I was even likely to get my period – she wanted me to be prepared. This was because her first period was a terrifying experience for her – she even believed she was going to die; and many women and girls I know have gone through the same before their mothers chose to explain to them what it was.

I was lucky enough to have a mother who explained menstruation to me years before the girls in my class “stumbled” across the word in their dictionaries, and a father who explained the science behind my uterine wall shedding away years before the boys in my class would be left with their jaws hanging in a Biology class. But most people in India and all over the world – including First World countries – still consider it a taboo.

Menstruation is considered “unclean” by most people in India, and the main religion in India – Hinduism – propagates this belief. Mestruation is believed to be a time women “must” spend in isolation to whatever extent possible, returning to her normal life only after she is “pure” again – she is not allowed to cook because she will infect the food; she is not allowed to pray because she will defile her God; she is not allowed to touch things around her house because she will pollute it.

Even though there are parts of India, like south India and Assam, where a woman’s first menstrual cycle is celebrated – a time when she is presented with gifts congratulating her on reaching “womanhood”, these cultures too, often require women to spend her period in isolation in a separate part of the house.

The taboo of menstruation has an impact which is much more far-reaching than just the emotional turmoil it can put a woman through – the embarrassment which is deeply ingrained into a woman’s mind can make her ignore basic sanitary needs. Great Wash Yatra, an organization which promotes awareness and behavior change around issues of sanitation, speaks of one girl who was so embarrassed to ask her mother for a clean cloth during her period, that she used one which had lizard eggs in it. The infection caused for her to have a uterus removed at the mere age of 13.

There are even tribes in India, such as women from Sheopur of Sharia tribe, which force their women to live in a cowshed throughout their periods – a practice which presents health risks too long to list.

A great number of Indian women are still forced to use thick cloth as a makeshift menstruation product instead of modern sanitary products, increasing the possibility of various uterine diseases. In a survey conducted by the organization WaterAid, it was found that 89% of women use cloth as absorbents, 2% use pieces of cotton, 7% use sanitary napkins and 2% use ash.

Many women aren’t even aware of the existence of sanitary pads, tampons and menstrual cups, the study found – 50 % of the respondents in their survey weren’t aware of the existence of the sanitary pad, a product which has only recently begun to be widely advertised in India.

37% of the respondents reported that they do not have access to a household toilet or school toilet, and are forced to manage with places like public bathrooms, fields, cowsheds and darkrooms.

Very few schools in India have access to toilets and menstrual disposal facilities. The torture and discomfort they are put through often encourages girls to drop out of school – or at least skip school for a week every month – a survey shows approximately 23% of Indian school girls drop out of school after their first period. In Nepal, India’s neighbor, women, irrespective of their age, are locked in their rooms for 12 days during their periods – a practice called chupadi.

The lack of basic sanitation such as clean water, privacy, toilets and safe disposal is a major factor that makes women in rural India compromise on their menstrual hygiene.

There is a great need for hygiene education and menstrual education which could eventually eliminate the shame surrounding it. Creating support for managing and dealing with menstruation is another movement India needs desperately, at a much larger scale than is currently being conducted. Women need to be provided with resources for managing the waste, increasing the availability of resources, as well as basic hygiene.

The world isn’t perfect: puberty and menstruation are difficult experiences by themselves. In spite of never being put through the emotional turmoil and physical discomfort, in terms of hygiene, many Indian women are put through, puberty was a very terrifying experience for me because of the immense physical and emotional changes I went through. But fortunately or unfortunately, puberty isn’t as personal and private as it may sound in theory; on the contrary, it’s an incredibly social experience – involving your family and friends. It is also when your culture, religion and upbringing become your ultimate guides through an experience you just can’t understand.

Menstruation is basic bodily function, just like sneezing, yawning, and digesting your food – and this is what World Menstrual Hygiene Day celebrated on 28th May, calls for: a need for awareness, a need for elimination of taboos, a need for hygiene, and most of all: a respect for menstruation and what it simply is.