Menstrual Hygiene Day | Give Her Wings

Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated across the globe on 28th May. This day holds special significance for women and girls in every part.

You would be amazed to know that while you read this blog, roughly 800 million women worldwide would be menstruating.

I would like to bring to your attention that menstruation is a universal female biological experience and is a sign of a woman’s good health. For every girl, this signifies an important transition to womanhood.

Unfortunately, while it is an experience shared by almost all women of reproductive age —roughly over two billion people — it is still a widely stigmatized topic.

And therefore to create awareness around this very important issue, which is often neglected and to break the associated taboos, 28th May is earmarked as Menstrual Hygiene Day.

28 signifies the ‘cycle of 28 days’ that is considered the standard menstrual cycle for any girl or woman. Further, May, the 5th month of the year signifies the 5 days of the periods. Hence 28 / 5 is the selected date.

The theme of Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022 is: making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030. The overarching goal is to build a world where no one is held back because they menstruate by 2030.

This would entail creating a society where every woman is empowered to manage her periods safely, hygienically and with dignity.

This can be achieved by ensuring:

• Every menstruator has access to safe period products of their choice. (Sanitary Pads, Reusable Pads, Tampons or Menstrual Cups)

• Every individual (inclusive of all genders) has basic information about menstruation.

• Everyone has access to period-friendly water, sanitation and hygiene facilities anywhere in the world.

• End of period stigma and social discrimination against menstruators.

It is unfortunate that in the 21st century we are still struggling to normalize periods and related conversation.

Research shows that alteast 71% of girls in India do not know anything about menstruation before their first period. This lack of awareness can sometimes instill fear in a young girl who experiences it for the first time and may lead to mental trauma too. This can majorly be attributed to the stigma around menstruation which leads to lack of information being shared between generations. Educating girls before their first period -- and, importantly, boys -- on menstruation, builds their confidence, contributes to social solidarity and encourages healthy habits.

#PeriodPoverty is a global issue, and it affects an estimated 500 million people worldwide. Period poverty refers to the social, economic, political, and cultural barriers to menstrual products, education, and sanitation. And leads to lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, waste management, or a combination of these. This has wide ranging impact on a girls life apart from the obvious health risks linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections.

It is heart-breaking that many a girls in rural and semi urban areas drop out of school on attaining puberty, due to lack of proper sanitation facilities in schools as well as due to traditional & cultural norms.

This is highly unacceptable that because of a natural bodily function women and girls continue to be prevented from getting an education, earning an income and fully and equally participating in everyday life.

It is high time that we come together to break the myths and taboos around menstruation and give wings to our daughters to fulfil their dreams. Our collective voices have a great impact and was even instrumental in pressurizing the government to scrap off #GST on period products, which has given an impetus to this cause.

In this age, where we are talking loudly about gender equality and building a gender just world, it is important that we eliminate period poverty which is closely related to the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals #SDGs also.

While we have definitely made progress and none other than the Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji set an example when he talked about this tabooed subject on the occasion of 74th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, still a lot of work needs to be done to bring about an attitudinal shift in how the society perceives periods, pads and menstrual health.

Recently, on the 1st day of the assembly session of Arunachal Pradesh, when #MenstruationHygieneBill was tabled, which sought to provide better facilities for rest at the workplace and menstruation leave; some legislators expressed discomfort in the issue being raised in the assembly. They voiced their dissent by calling menstruation a dirty thing to be talked about in a holy place like assembly.

It is vital to destigmatize the subject of menstruation, and understand menstrual health as an aspect of the fundamental right to life with dignity and healthcare. We can no longer consider it to be a ‘dirty’ thing when it is a known fact that menstruation is a natural biological process that is so essential for human existence.

#EndPeriodStigma #EndPeriodPoverty #PeriodEducationForAll #PeriodFriendlyToiletsForAll #ItsTimeForAction #WeAreCommitted #MenstruationMatters

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