Menstrual Health and Hygiene                                                                                                                                                                           SDG Vong Café insights

BY- Vongle Ishita

SDG VONG CAFÉ’s Insights:

A woman’s menstrual health contributes not just to her own health, but also to the health of her family and community as well. Despite this, menstrual hygiene is among the most challenging issues in the developing world today. The social stigma and restrictions associated with menstruation may hamper the schooling, mobility, and freedom of girls in the long run as well. Thus, they need to be taught MHM from a young age so that they can continue to lead normal daily lives.

For most part of India especially, in rural areas, the primary source of information is the mother. Hence, the unscientific and impractical practices trickle down to newer generations.

Orion Square works for highlighting these issues and create an atmosphere of learning and critical thinking for the youth. The SDG VONG Café brought in experts to give a multi-dimensional understanding  on the issue of menstrual health and hygiene and touched on so many aspects that often stay obscure, but deserve our undivided attention.

Through these talks we aim to eliminate one very important aspect of this issue: Unawareness. Our VONG (Voice Of the New Generation) movement aims at getting the youth involved in raising awareness, bolstering their voices and bringing about the change in society that we so desperately need. This live event  aimed at understanding various aspects of the issue at hand, the hindrances, the associated social stigma and the possible steps that can be taken by us to eradicate this problem.

The Guest Speakers:                                                                                                                                                     Mr. Arjun, founder of the Red Cycle                                                                                                                                    Dr. Abhinaya, consultant OBGYN and founder of Pink Butterfly Project

Following is a summary of the discussion that happened and some excellent insights.

 

How intense is the issue of unawareness regarding menstrual health in India in present times, considering we have taken big strides in general health and education level of our population?

If I walk out of my house and ask the first person in sight about the difference between a male and a female, what could his possible answers be? A difference in appearances, clothing, hairstyle, responsibilities, etc. are the common factors registered by people. Squeezing imagination till the last drop might yield menstruation as a differentiating factor, which is indeed one of the most fundamental biological difference between a man and a woman. However, this rarely finds a space in conversations defining the biology of a woman, of course, unless she is barren, and then this becomes the single most important point of discussion.

Enquiring why this wouldn’t be one of the first points of distinction between a male and a female for anyone, yields the answer- stigma, taboo, shame, and cultural apathy associated with it. Hence the problem of unawareness is extremely rampant and prima-facie seems to need atleast two generation worth of time to alleviate.

“Menstrual blood is the only source of blood that is not traumatically induced. Yet in modern society, has so rarely spoken of and almost never seen, except privately by women.”

Making menstrual health and hygiene a taboo practiced by women is a grave social injustice that women face in their everyday lives.

 

What can we do to promote menstrual hygiene in rural areas?

The general response to this problem is the distribution of sanitary products at minimal or no cost. However, the crux of the problem is behavioral and not material. Rural areas continue to remain highly prejudiced regarding menstruating women. Hence, while the government invests a lot in sanitary products distribution, a lot of investment needs to be done in the social and behavioral aspects of the issue. As long as the stigmatization and restriction remain in place, the promotion of menstrual health remains restricted for rural as well as urban households. Both men and women need to be sensitized regarding menstrual health and hygiene. Rural folks are mostly driven by age-old customs and superstitions. A biological awareness about menstruation is severely lacking and awareness needs to be increased.

Only when this issue is attacked at its roots, can one expect the problem of menstrual hygiene to be taken by its horns.

“Over half the world menstruates at one time or another, but you’d never know it. Isn’t that strange?”

 

In ancient times women’s menstrual cycle was celebrated and not stigmatized! When did that change and why?

Celebrating menstruation was a way of announcing that the girl has attained marriageable age. The restrictions and stigma continued. In modern times the marriageable age of women got pushed away, as a result, the celebratory aspect got diluted severely. Otherwise, not much has changed.

Many regions in India continue to venerate the menstrual aspect, like Assam. The Kamakhya deity is said to menstruate every year for 14 days. And the period is considered most auspicious. The people here, as a result, do not consider menstruation taboo.

“Our great symbol for the Goddess is the moon, whose three aspects reflect the three stages of women’s lives and whose cycle of waxing and waning coincide with women’s menstrual cycles.”

 

 

23% of girls are bullied about their menstrual cycles and lack hygiene tools in both rural and urban areas. How do we manage this issue?

As previously discussed, the root cause is behavioral. Creating taboo out of this biological phenomenon is the pertinent reason for most problems associated with menstruation. Bullying young girls, especially the ones getting their period for the first time leads to perpetuating a mindset of shame. Managing this problem requires a curriculum educating students regarding their bodies and the difference between the male and female bodies. This would be a good solution to bullying as well as the normalization of period in society.

What must the youth do to promote menstrual health and break the taboo?

Indian youth can be extremely instrumental in bringing about a social change and the youth must take this responsibility actively. One thing that needs small effort but has a multiplier effect educates lesser aware folks around them. Talk about it to the house-help, her children, the neighboring girl getting her period for the first time. The need of the hour is to normalize menstruation. And this does not require many elaborate arrangements. Talking about it to people around is just the way to do this. Changing the attitude of one person around is more effective than bringing a large audience for an awareness campaign. Of course, the utility of awareness programs cannot be discounted. Government has many policies that make it easier for women to access menstrual hygiene products, and awareness about these has life-easing effects on them. But currently, we need to focus our forces on bringing about a change in mindset to break the stigma.

” Period is not the enemy, it is a barometer of the overall woman’s health.”

 

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the menstrual health of women and associated mental health?

The lockdown has had an egregious impact on menstrual and associated mental health. Having all-male members at home brought down accessibility to menstrual products and medicines. The associated discomfort and shame also created mental discomfort for young girls. Health issues related to menopause, fibroids, endometrial, etc. went unmedicated. Problems like PCOS grew more rampant due to a lack of medical aid and medicines.

Vaccination caused a separate set of problems. Many vaccinated women faced irregular cycles, excessive bleeding, and painful period. Unable to avail medical advice for these issues, added to the mental trauma that was already a part of the covid related stress.

“ For a lot of women, period stigma is a chronic experience. They experience this constantly- from family members, doctors, coaches, and partners.”

 

 

What is the impact of menstruation on the environment?

The tools that are widely available to Indian women to manage menstrual hygiene are extremely harmful to the environment. On average, an Indian woman uses up to 5000 sanitary pads. And by the time she reaches her menopausal age the pad she used during her period continues to exist in the environment.

The more environment-friendly options that are available, are prohibitively expensive. Or, options like menstrual cups suffer from the stigma of losing virginity.

The disposal methods of these tools also create various issues. Menstrual waste is categorized as medical waste, but the disposal is done in the most unsanitary and unsafe manner. Used napkins are a common sight in landfills, drains, roadsides, and even oceans. The bacteria that grow on these pads can cause serious infections to animals and humans who come in contact. They can also find a way into our food chain and cause serious diseases.

The government needs to take urgent cognizance and make policies for the safe disposal of menstrual waste and also popularize more environmentally friendly products.

 

 

How do we relate menstrual hygiene and the SDGs?

Menstrual health is a matter of human rights. Apart from that, it is the most glaring but under-prioritized issue in gender equity.

To effectively give women equity the first step has to be accepting menstruation as a natural phenomenon. It is not a sickness and not a liability. The associated shame and inaccessibility to support for menstrual health has to be diluted if not eradicated.

Menstrual hygiene also needs to be mindful of the environmental costs and sustainability needs to be introduced in managing it.

 

How to sensitize children toward menstrual health?

The school curriculum needs to change. A thorough understanding of the human body, puberty, and menstruation needs to be imparted. Presently, most information that students have is sourced from the internet. The parents also need to be sensitized regarding the importance of speaking about it to their children. Any change that needs to be brought about has to be started at schools. Hence, the curriculum must be updated for the students, and parents are educated regarding the importance of talking about it.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Compartmentalizing menstrual health into a women’s issue is trivializing it. It is an important milestone that needs to be reached on the path to gender equity and equality. The rural women continue to face extreme stigmatization which impedes their access to menstrual hygiene tools and treatment if and when required. This does not discount the fact that even urban women face taboo restrictions. Awareness and openness need to be raised to improve the menstrual experience of all women.

Government invests a lot of resources in the distribution of sanitary pads and other hygiene tools, but an equal amount of investment is needed to bring a behavioral change and break the stigma.

The environmental cost of menstrual sanitation is also under-discussed and largely ignored. The prohibitive prices of green products need to be brought down and more sustainable options like menstrual cups need to be popularized.

The youth need to be more open about this issue. It’s their responsibility to break the taboo and normalize period talk. A shift in the curriculum to understand human bodies and mechanisms is required for school students. It is imperative to break period out of the boundaries of hush-hush girl talk and accept it to be a normal affair. And that would be the first step to providing women a rightful space in the gender equity debate.

“Society has placed a taboo surrounding period and menstrual health as if we should be ashamed of this natural and miraculous process that ultimately kept the human species alive.”

The VONG movement shall leave no stone unturned to raise awareness regarding this issue and emancipate as many women as possible from obscurity and the social injustice inflicted upon them.