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Menstruation aka Menses or Periods
It was the first time, when I went to the chemist shop to buy pads for me because my mother was out of town and I was running short of my supplies. The shop was just around five hundred metres away from my house. I slipped into the shop and asked the keeper to provide me two packs of pads. The shop seemed quite busy to me that day but the keeper was normal because maybe it was his everyday job. He took the packets and carefully wrapped them in one large sheet of newspaper. I could see Hindustan Times beautifully carved in blue and black on the newspaper. I paid him and took the cleanly covered package. The shop was built on an elevated land and therefore had five to ten steps before opening up into the congested road. While stepping down, I accidentally spilled the keper's cleanly wrapped supplies. The two packed packets of pads or precisely Whisper no more had the covering of the newspaper. I bent down to pick them up and realised that the beautifully carved Hindustan newspaper was wet as it fell into a rainfed ditch. I decided to leave the newspaper and go home with two naked packets of pads. When I again came back on my straight spine, I discovered a bunch of strangers staring at me for no reason. They were leering at the packets as if it carried a bomb. After starting those people back for almost twenty seconds, I straight headed towards my home.
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This is an account of my experience, which happened back in 2015 and I don't know why it took me this long to write about. I'm absolutely sure that most of us will have such experiences hidden back in our heads.
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Menstruation, aka Menses or Periods, is a regular discharge of blood and some tissue from the inner lining of the uterus, through vagina. It usually starts in girls between 12 to 15 years of age. Bleeding lasts for about 3 to 7 days. Almost 80% of women report having some symptoms prior to their Periods, such as acne, mood swings, bloating, pain in lower abdomen, tender breasts etc. These symptoms are collectively called Premenstrual Syndrome or the PMS. Many menstrual hygiene products are available, like, pads, tampons, menstrual cups, reusable cloth pads etc.
All these things are what we generally know about the Menses, but what we tend to ignore is that not every girl is fortunate to have access to these basic personal hygiene products. Studies disclose that nearly 88% of women and girls in India use homemade alternatives, such as old cloth, rags, hay, sand or ash. Nearly 40% of the girls discontinue their school during their Menses. I, on a personal level, can't even imagine the situation of such girls. How would it feel using these uneasy and painful alternatives between your legs? And the ones who are fortunate to have access to these products, like me, at some or other point of time are made to feel uneasy and awkward if seen with the supplies.
The thing is that we need to normalise certain things. We need to talk more and more on these issues so that it is no more left unspoken or undiscussed. It not just implies to the Menses but to everything that is unvoiced, like bra straps and the unwanted hairs. The bra strap is as normal as any other piece of cloth is!Similarly, Menses is also as normal process as probably sweating is! When we cut and bleed we use bandages, it's normal. We never carry bandages hidden in layers and layers of newspapers or in a black plastic bag, so why we carry pads that way?
Period is still believed to be a Taboo( in many parts of the world), though it should not be. 🙂
.
.
This is an account of my experience, which happened back in 2015 and I don't know why it took me this long to write about. I'm absolutely sure that most of us will have such experiences hidden back in our heads.
.
.
Menstruation, aka Menses or Periods, is a regular discharge of blood and some tissue from the inner lining of the uterus, through vagina. It usually starts in girls between 12 to 15 years of age. Bleeding lasts for about 3 to 7 days. Almost 80% of women report having some symptoms prior to their Periods, such as acne, mood swings, bloating, pain in lower abdomen, tender breasts etc. These symptoms are collectively called Premenstrual Syndrome or the PMS. Many menstrual hygiene products are available, like, pads, tampons, menstrual cups, reusable cloth pads etc.
All these things are what we generally know about the Menses, but what we tend to ignore is that not every girl is fortunate to have access to these basic personal hygiene products. Studies disclose that nearly 88% of women and girls in India use homemade alternatives, such as old cloth, rags, hay, sand or ash. Nearly 40% of the girls discontinue their school during their Menses. I, on a personal level, can't even imagine the situation of such girls. How would it feel using these uneasy and painful alternatives between your legs? And the ones who are fortunate to have access to these products, like me, at some or other point of time are made to feel uneasy and awkward if seen with the supplies.
The thing is that we need to normalise certain things. We need to talk more and more on these issues so that it is no more left unspoken or undiscussed. It not just implies to the Menses but to everything that is unvoiced, like bra straps and the unwanted hairs. The bra strap is as normal as any other piece of cloth is!Similarly, Menses is also as normal process as probably sweating is! When we cut and bleed we use bandages, it's normal. We never carry bandages hidden in layers and layers of newspapers or in a black plastic bag, so why we carry pads that way?
Period is still believed to be a Taboo( in many parts of the world), though it should not be. 🙂
