By Naveed Rozais
Discussions on sex and sexual and reproductive health have always been frowned upon (to say the least) in our culture. This taboo extends to discussions on menstruation, despite it being a natural process that all women go through for a significant portion of their lives.
The only socially sanctioned time to discuss a period is when someone becomes a “big girl” or at times of suspected pregnancy. For all periods in between, women are basically on their own. This lack of discussion often leads to period poverty; a lack of overall access to methods, infrastructure, and knowledge with regard to managing menstrual health, including but not limited to a lack of hygiene products like pads, tampons, menstrual cups, etc.; sanitation facilities like clean toilets; affordable healthcare facilities and water management systems; and finally, an environment free from harmful misconceptions, cultural practices, and shame.
Period poverty and Mindful Menstruation
Period poverty is a very real thing, with sanitary napkins and other feminine hygiene products deemed luxury items, being subject to eye-watering tax. A monthly bodily function for so many women can become both a physical and financial burden, especially for daily wage earners and women from low-income communities, who are already taking a massive beating with the pandemic. Added to this is the fact that many young women and girls find themselves ostracised from basic activities, mainly because of the cultural shame attached to menstruation.
In a bid to shift social attitudes towards menstruation and move towards easing period poverty The Grassrooted Trust, with the Women’s Development Foundation, has embarked on an awareness and education initiative – Mindful Menstruation – to give women and girls in the Ibbagamuwa Division of the Kurunegala District the chance to learn about menstrual health and hygiene and how they can go into their communities and be voices for positive change.
The Grassrooted Trust was set up to provide a safe space for marginalised communities, online and in the real world, with the belief that people must enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and rights, both sensibly and responsibly. Through the transformative power of education and learning coupled with accurate, comprehensive information imparted respectfully, The Grassrooted Trust believes that effective initiatives at the grassroots level can drive paradigm shifts in thoughts and attitudes.
Speaking to Brunch about Mindful Menstruation, The Grassrooted Trust Director Paba Deshapriya explained that with the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, whole families have been at home, especially in rural areas. With menstruating mothers and their male family members (be they partners, children, parents, etc.) in the home, many women lost a sense of their privacy, especially with regard to menstruating. “The rural women and girls we engage with mostly use a cloth to absorb their menstrual blood. If these menstrual cloths are not washed and dried properly, this can lead to poor reproductive health,” Deshapriya explained, adding that this lack of privacy has led to many women being uncomfortable washing and drying their menstrual cloths because of what the men in their homes might say or feel, continuing to wear these dirty pieces of cloths and thereby increasing their risk of sexual and reproductive health issues.
Mindful Menstruation, in addition to building awareness for long-term change, also works to provide rural women with disposable sanitary napkins that can be used in lieu of these pieces of cloth that pose health risks to them if handled improperly. Addressing concerns on promoting the use of disposable sanitary napkins, because of their impact on the environment, Deshapriya noted that disposable sanitary napkins are a short-term measure, with part of Mindful Menstruations’s long-term goals being to teach rural women about the other, more sustainable ways of managing menstruation, including reusable cloth napkins. “Mindful Menstruation covers more than just menstruation,” Deshapirya explained, adding that the group of 50 women from Ibbagamuwa, who are currently part of Mindful Menstruation, discuss a variety of topics including learning about their bodies, bodily autonomy, consent, pleasure, virginity, violence and prevention, child abuse and corporal punishment, and protection of children. “We see Mindful Menstruation as a long-term approach of continuous discussion as opposed to a one-off programme or workshop.”
The need for a paradigm shift
Mindful Menstruation’s core goal is to, first and foremost, change attitudes around menstrual and sexual health, starting from creating an environment where a woman can seek out menstrual hygiene products without a second thought.
Sharing a story she heard during one Mindful Menstruation session, Deshapriya shared that in many rural areas, the act of simply going to buy a sanitary napkin is treated like a heist – the girl in question goes to the shop and hangs around for a little bit, making small talk with the mudalali, before discreetly making her way to the cabinet where pads are kept, taking one and placing it near the mudalali, while loudly asking for a pack of biscuits. “There is so much shame around menstruation,” Deshapriya said, adding: “It has been made into something very unclean and women are put down with no understanding of how their bodies work.”
Another reason that highlights the need for societal change is the misconception men have of a menstruating woman being more aroused and open to sex. “There are wide gaps in understanding about menstruation, which is why this happening,” Deshapriya said, adding that myths like menstruating women shouldn’t bathe (despite any health textbook advising the contrary – but because teachers too are not immune to these social norms, many teachers don’t teach these aspects of the health books, and instead validate such information, resulting in the cycle continuing) and cultural practices like menstruating women being forbidden from visiting temples, also contribute to the taboo around menstruation. “We need to fill the gaps, and this needs to be addressed across all levels of society.”
Being the change
Having commenced Mindful Menstruation last year during the lockdown with a small group of rural women in Ibbagamuwa, The Grassrooted Trust is now looking to expand and touch the lives of more women. The support of the public is crucial for such initiatives and so, The Grassrooted Trust would like to invite the public to be a part of Mindful Menstruation by dominating to sponsor menstrual health and hygiene products for rural women or to sponsor a Mindful Menstruation Discussion and be a part of driving long-term social change. It costs Rs. 4,000 to sponsor 25 packs of disposable sanitary napkins or two period cups, and Rs. 5,000 to sponsor a Mindful Menstruation discussion.
For more information on how to donate or support Mindful Menstruation, or to stay updated on its progress, please contact The Grassrooted Trust.
E-mail: trust@grassrooted.net