Hey, you! Yes, you! Crying in pain with a hot water bag and trying to calm down the muscles in your lower torso? I know it’s that time of the month when your hormones are apparently out of control and everything seems to be annoying. You tend to feel as if a monster is attacking your abdominal area.

In fact, the pain is actually so severe for some women that they even prefer skipping school or office. But then again, I am just clueless why the whole world understands ‘cold’ and ‘flu,’ but the pain of menstruation! During the cycle, it feels like somebody stamping the stomach but explaining this agony to men is equally exasperating.

John Guillebaud, a professor of reproductive health at University College London, has stated that painful periods are:

“are almost as painful as heart attacks”

Thank God! Finally, someone has actually let the world know what women have been trying to express for ages: that we are not overdramatizing the pain we go through!!

Even though few of us are fortunate enough to have a comparatively painless period, still 9 in 10 women suffer from cramps and between 30-50% are victims of Dysmenorrhoea – the scientific term for painful periods.

According to doctors, pain during periods are mostly due to substances called prostaglandins. These substances are released from the lining of the uterus and make it contract. These period contractions, apply pressure on the uterus which can be just equal to the “pushing” stage of labor.

A million-dollar question: Why do we have no permanent treatment for period cramps?

Scientists have invented robotic arms that are well versed in performing a heart surgery; but then, there are no permanent treatments for period cramps!

Yes, there are some pain killers or certain home remedies that (hopefully) make your period a bit less painful. But opting for a pain killer every month, with a variety of unpleasant side effects, isn’t a good thing for health at all.

It’s high time now! We need to end this age-old custom of being silent about menstruation cramps.

Well, till date, every time you have had to explain period cramps to someone who doesn’t have a uterus! Now, time has come, you should explain them that there is a scientific evidence proving how insanely torturous period pains are.

During periods, women are both mentally and physically unable to work. Especially, with the pain going unbearable, it becomes tough for them to get up and continue with their daily chores.

The thing that has actually stirred my mind and made me write on this topic is if men had to go through menstrual pains there would certainly be menstrual leave printed on every work agreement. In reality, the present work system has been constructed by and for people who don’t even get periods. Maybe that’s the reason why we have soap and toilet paper in public washrooms but not menstrual products.

Why isn’t period pain observed with the same amount of concern as other sicknesses?

Discussions over menstrual pain and the workplace are definitely complex. Every woman would definitely want to work for a company where she will have the leverage to take a day off at least when she bleeds. Why can’t employers trust that women can get their work done from home at least for a day and deliver the work on time?

Many countries have already introduced paid period leave policies, reportedly with variable stages of success. Japan has been having a national paid menstrual leave plan in position since 1947, and Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, and parts of China have formed similar plans for women too.