13/02/2018
“Menstrual blood is the only source of blood that is not traumatically induced. Yet in the society this is the most hidden blood, the one so rarely spoken of and never seen, except privately by women!”
-Judy Grahn
While growing up, nobody told me anything about it, till I myself experienced it. Yes, this is how menstruation or commonly called ‘periods’ are tabooed in society. It is very ironical how that something that is so natural, happens in a cycle, is a part of every woman’s life, is so shushed about, as if it some kind of an illegal activity, that should not be known to anyone except you. It pains me that how the blood coming out of a woman’s body is called as ‘impure blood’ despite the fact that the same menstrual cycle is responsible for the origin of life!
The whole thing, “periods being a taboo”, does not only have the social problems but also biological problems, which the women suffer just because they cannot tell anyone that they are having their periods. All the hormonal changes that are effects of periods are not taken seriously, and very often women get to hear that this happens to you every month, you must now be habitual of it, it must not be a problem anymore. The suffering and pain caused during periods, both physical and mental are very underrated by the society. This ‘not talking about it’ has a lot of ill effects, where girls cannot tell anyone as to what kind of pain do they suffer, or how often does it happen, what might be the health problems regarding it, and this is a matter of concern because just like other biological activities may have health issues attached, periods may have too. And, since girls and women are restricted from taking the name of periods in front of anyone, how can this be expected that they will share the problems associated with it, that they are suffering.
Since, periods itself is a taboo, the problems related to it are also a taboo, and people avoid talking about it too. For example, the sanitary pads, are bought by the women, and carried in a black carry bag, or something opaque, so that nobody could see what they are carrying. This is the case in the urban areas where people are supposed to be educated anhave a broadened thinking. Talking about the problems in rural areas, the availability of sanitary pads, and medicines are very scarce, and people opt for other alternatives which are very unhealthy, such as, using clothes again and again after washing them, because of scarcity of clothes, or using one cloth for a long time, or using soil or sand etc,. This things cause several infections in women, and since, medication is also a luxury for them, they are unable to cure it, and this result in several fatalities. Same is the case for the women, who cannot afford sanitary pads.
The problems related to periods are ubiquitous but the other problem that goes hand in hand, and is the cause, is that people don’t talk about it. Discussing about periods, and considering it to be an issue of importance is the need of the hour. Society needs to be open minded regarding the same, and be supportive of the girls and women regarding periods. Several other solutions could be providing sanitary pads at a lower rates, or free of cost to the ones who cannot afford it. In the long run however, other measures like educating girls and boys at a young age regarding menstruation and making the people the aware regarding menstruation and the problems related to it.