I Bleed. Deal with it by Radhika Singhal

Periods. Menstruation. Menses. Why can’t we talk about it? SShhh. Secret. Hidden.

On Menstrual Hygiene Day and being on my periods today (while writing), I’d like to unveil the truth behind the real-life drama of getting periods every month. Remember, I am not ‘down’ today but simply on my ‘periods’ as I have been experiencing every month for the last 10 years. A significant natural biological process that every girl and woman goes through every month for about half of her life that causes the survival of our species. Yet we consider it a taboo and feel awkward and shameful talking about it. Even the most famous name in menstrual hygiene products ‘Whisper’ suggests that menstruation is something to be spoken about in a whisper so that no one would know about it.

I still remember the 12 year old self me who smiled after getting her periods for the first time during school hours. This excitement of my puberty couldn’t survive when I returned back home. Like my sister, I was also directly or indirectly told to follow the same old ridiculous norms. I was told to keep it a secret from others, even from my father and brother. Later when this chapter appeared in our textbooks, the biology teacher skipped the topic. In fact, one day, a female teacher suggested several things we should not eat and do during periods. I grew up in a small town, Hapur in West Uttar Pradesh, where even buying a sanitary napkin is considered to be shameful. I was one of those girls who used unhygienic ways of managing periods like cloth rags, which I would keep in a dark corner place. I was considered impure and forbidden from worshipping or touching any object of religious importance as you may often find signposts outside temples denying the entry of menstruating girls and women.