THE TABOO OF MENSTRUATION IN INDIA- IS THERE AN OUT?

It's 2019

And millions of Indian women are still subjected to toxic menstrual practices. 

FACTS: 

1. Only 15 percent of women in India have access to sanitary napkins. The remaining population relies on clothes, rags, leaves, and newspapers as absorbents.
2. 66% of girls don’t even know about menstruation when they first start their period.
3. Approximately 23% of adolescent girls drop out of school when they start menstruating and those who don’t usually miss up to 5 days of school every month.

While living a normal life during ‘that time of the month’ is quite normal for women like you and me in urban areas, let’s admit that there’s still some whispering, hushing and hiding. Unfortunately, for women living in rural areas, these days also come along with alienation and shame.
Many rituals in India celebrate first menses and consider it as a gift. However, this very ‘gift’ of being able to reproduce stems unrealistic customs. 

The taboos associated with menstruation in India come as innately as menstruation comes to women. The general silence around the subject adds to the difficulty of the situation. Young girls are not educated about the science behind this biological process and nor are they provided with an environment that allows them to talk freely about their problems. There are still instances where women are not allowed to perform certain tasks and are expected to behave in a certain manner when going through their monthly cycle. The idea of being ‘impure’ during menses is ingrained so deeply in some women that they themselves refrain from performing certain activities.

Over 70 percent of women who face problems related to reproductive health were found to be practicing unhygienic menstrual practices. And even though some of them have access to safer products, they prefer using the same old methods. This entire cycle of silence, taboos, and orthodoxy keep pushing women and young girls towards greater health risks.

However, the picture is not all dark. Women are slowly raising their voices, protesting against ignorant rituals. The mainstream cinema is also portraying these voices. The government is prioritizing female health and hygiene. Be it the removal of taxes that were applicable on sanitary napkins, or making them available at lower or zero costs in the rural parts of the country, efforts are being made to improve the access to better sanitation. And the best part? The younger generation is not accepting things the way they are. Young girls and boys no longer shy away from the topic or shun its importance. They proudly declare that if they were subjected to or have witnessed any kind of differential treatment given to women during their menses, they would make sure that they would never behave the same.

For more such informative blogs, keep following us!