Period taboos: Why feeling shy talking about periods?

Every female experiences a menstrual cycle after a certain age and this brings physical, mental, emotional and hormonal changes in her which she has to adapt to. But the taboos related to menstruation remain unchanged. There is still a section of the female population subjected to menstrual prejudice and still have to fight period taboos.

Why are period taboos so rooted in India?

Recent studies have shown that awareness about menstruation is very low among people. Most of the women, especially in the rural areas are unaware and uneducated about this. Though the topic has become the part of the Indian education curriculum yet the teachers and parents shy away from openly discussing it with  children due to which people are still not able to normalise it. Most of the men have little or no idea about this and women do not like sharing the same openly with them as well. Men buying packets of sanitary napkins for their females is not considered as ethical. Young boys at school mock the girls wearing clothes having red blood stains.

Females are considered as goddesses yet they are restricted from entering into the kitchen and religious places and are excluded from being the part of sacred ceremonies. 

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Need for awareness programs to educate people about period taboos:

Even after so many campaigns by the NGOs and initiatives taken up by the government like “Chuppi Todo, sayani bano", Suvidha and Ujjwala yojna to provide affordable sanitary napkins, still most of the women have little or no access to sanitary pads and still use clothes and ultimately face severe health issues. 

Though the media is playing a vital role in making people aware of this through movies like “Padman" but we cannot normalise periods until these advertisements stop showing blue gel instead of red, the actual colour of blood.

We can promote eco-friendly alternatives of sanitary napkins like menstrual cups but before that we have to overcome the taboo of buying sanitary pads wrapped in newspapers or poly bags. Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed every year on May 28, is a good way of enhancing and spreading awareness related to menstruation.  It’s important to talk about periods and know what’s normal and what’s not. Talking about periods and putting up any period issue at the right time can prevent you from many menstrual health related issues. Talk to Gytree’s non judgmental experts, who provide you with hand holding guidance and right treatment.