India pretends, that period doesn't exist

Hanna Andrysiak
Jun 1, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Apr 2, 2021

In India women don't talk about "girl's stuff". I don't mean gossips or boys. They don't talk about the menstruation. It's still taboo in XXI century. In India women are 48% of the society and only 2% of them use sanitary napkins in roral areas.

Shame and embarrassment

Some woman asked two girls, I guess between 12 and 15 years old, what period is. They were laughing and didn't answer.

Ask her first

starts one girl.

No, why don't you go ahead?

The same thing happened with other girls and women. They were laughing and looking at each other. But no one wanted to be first.

I know what it is, but I feel emberrassed. I can't say it.

In India, mostly in villages, people don't want to talk about it. They pretend that period doesn't exist. Men believe that this is illness, which affect women. Or don't know what it is at all. People laugh at girls with menstruation. Because of their attacks, they feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

According to AC Nielsen, only 12% of women in India use normal sanitary napkins during menstruation. Other women use clothes (really often dirty and old), sand, leaves, ash from home stoves instead of normal hygienic products. Mostly, because they can't afford it or don't know that napkins even exist.

Black magic

Girls were asked also, what is the reason behind the bleeding. One older women answered, that only God knows that.

It's bad blood which comes out.

she added.

Babies are born because of it. That's all I know.

explained the other.

In India it is believed that during menstruation, women shouldn't go to the temple. They can't pray to any gods.

The elders in the house say that the prayer isn't heard, no matter how much you pray.

explains one girl.

They can't also be in the kitchen, take part in public ceremonies and meetings, draw water from the well. Sometimes they have to spend nights away from home, for example in a shed or behind the border of the village.

Social problems

One woman tells her story. She was studying until the primary school, when first period had happened. She had to change her clothes. It was difficult. They were soaking wet very fast. She also had to go far away behind the school, to find place, where she could change the clothe. But there were many men in this place looking at her and she couldn't just do it in front of them. After a year, she left the school. 25% of women do the same after first period. Because of menstruation, they can't finish education.

Shockwave

In one of the Indian schools, there was some accident, which made many girls angry and shocked. During an assembly, almost 70 girls had to prove, that they don't have menstruation. But how? Just removing their underwear.

One of the students, explains in 'Hindustan Times', that they had to go to the toilet, where girls were asked about period and had to show their underwear.

Patriarchy

One of the temples announced, that women can't go inside the building, until 'period scanner' is invented. It will show if woman has menstruation or is 'clean'. It was idea of Prayer Gopalakrishnan. He went too far. Nikita Azad felt terrible because of man's words. She made a petition. Facebook followed her idea, where campaign #HappyToBleed was created. Girls all around the India put their pictures in the internet with this hashtag on the paper.

In this campaign, not being allowed to get to the temple isn't the most important. This is a protest against patriarchy and women discrimination in our society.

they explain in posts.

Revolution

Arunachalam Muruganantham invented the low-cost sanitary napkin machine. One day, he saw his wife hiding something behind him. It was dirty clothe, which she was using during period. He was shoked.

I won't use it even to clean my motorbike.

He wanted to do something with this and invent sanitary napkin, which could be available for every women in his country. He spent three years examinating them and learning how they work. Finally, he constructed simple machine producing sanitary napkins. Even women without education can use it. They need only cellulose and cotton, which are common in India. He made revolution in his country and broke taboo. It's more simple to buy so emberrassing product from another woman than a man. His workers can explain the society how hygiene is important and show, that there is nothing to be ashamed about menstruation. India is changing.

Don't talk about it

In study ‘Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in India’, we read that 50% of girls taking part in this research, didn't know about menstruation, until they finally had it. Many of them believed, that they were daying or having some terrible disease, because of pain and blood. Mothers don't talk about it with daughters. The same is with friends. Girls have to cope with this problem alone. And I'm not surprised by their reaction. I'm sure, if anyone didn't talk with me about it, I would be extremely scared. But in reality, there is nothing to be scared of.