Menstruation is a natural and biological process that happens to most girls all over the world. For most girls in India however, this rite of passage and marker of coming-of-age is shameful and dreaded. Menstruation all over the world, but especially in India is surrounded by a huge stigma and proves to be a giant taboo. For generations now, menstruation is believed to be dirty, toxic, impure, and disgusting and is spoken about in hushed tones, contributing to young girls’ belief in doing the same. 

 

I got my period when I was around 13 years old, and I was lucky enough to have been educated about periods, so it didn’t come as a real shock to me. But, 71% of adolescent girls remain unaware of menstruation until they get their first period. Menstruation didn’t seem like much of a taboo to me, because it was so drastically normalised. Things like using ridiculous code names to talk about periods openly, hiding your pad when going to a public washroom, sneaking pads to your friend in need of one, and not even being allowed to enter a temple when menstruating, was normal and expected to me and my peers, for the longest time. I had never thought to question it because it was inbuilt into our society and the way we lived. Girls have been conditioned from young ages to be ashamed of their periods and even if not explicitly told, have been brainwashed into thinking that a natural and quite beautiful process is dirty and shameful. Taboos, myths and stereotypes such as not being able to enter the kitchen on your period, because the food will become toxic, or not touching pickle because it will sour, and even not being able to enter places of worship, further solidify this sentiment that promotes girls and women to keep periods and menstruation a secret in their communities. 

 

Discovering the world of menstrual taboos, myths, superstitions and more have left me baffled, with none of them having any scientific evidence and validity to support them, many are still blindly followed. I would always subscribe to these menstrual taboos in school, at home, around friends and family because it is what I thought I had to do, even though having never been told it directly. Around the age of 14, I realised that this mission that I embarked on every time I had to change my pad in a public washroom, which was comprised of stuffing the pad up my shirt and sprinting to the bathroom, whilst avoiding any eye contact, was so pointless. It was then that I realised how normalised the taboo surrounding menstruation was and just how much of a problem it was in our society.  I realised that I hid my pad, my period, my period pain and more from others to avoid causing them discomfort or making them feel squeamish, regardless of how much of an inconvenience it was for me. Girls and women all over the world have to compromise their comfort whilst on their period, to make others around them feel comfortable and at ease, even though they might not feel the same. 

 

A culmination of all my own menstruation experiences, the experiences of others and the lack of awareness and conversation that surrounds the topic of menstruation, inspired me to write my very first book called “Breaking the Taboo” which aims the break the taboo surrounding menstruation in India and highlight the magnitude and severity that the taboo surrounding menstruation has on countless amounts of girls. Breaking the Taboo follows the real-life stories of 7 young girls and the trials, tribulations, struggles and hardships they have faces, whilst dealing with their period in a country where menstruation is considered a huge taboo. The girls recount experiences in which the clothes they menstruated in were lit ablaze or the feelings of terror and anxiety that overcame them when they first saw the blood pouring out of their body and much more. 

 

The experience of collecting these stories, talking to the girls and writing their experiences for everyone to read, taught me so much about how we, as a larger community, can go about breaking the taboo that surrounds menstruation. 

 

I believe that the solution to breaking the taboo that surrounds menstruation is starting conversations, to shift perspectives and change inbuilt and stigmatised mindsets. In addition to this raising awareness and educating people is also very important. 

 

We can start conversations by talking to our family, friends and inner circles, about our own experiences with menstruation, stories about menstruation, news and statistics related to menstruation and anything that can start a meaningful and insightful conversation into menstruation. Menstruation is a natural and biological process that happens to most girls all over the world. For most girls in India however, this rite of passage and marker of coming-of-age is shameful and dreaded.. One of the main contributors to why menstruation is such a taboo is because there is a huge lack of education and a giant spread of misinformation that surrounds it, which is further fueled by myths, superstitions, and more. It is important that we educate young girls about menstruation before they get it so that they aren’t overwhelmed by feelings of shock and terror but instead excitement and pride. 

 

We should also teach young girls to embrace their periods and empower themselves by loving menstruation and it’s a beautiful process. It’s also pivotal that we teach boys and men about menstruation so that they don’t later subscribe to myths or taboos and are understanding, empathetic, and open-minded about it. 

 

Lastly, it’s very vital that we remove our own internalized taboos, stigmas, myths, and more surrounding menstruation so that as individuals we don’t contribute to solidifying the taboo instead of breaking it.