How often have you talked regarding ‘periods’ with your family? Have you felt embarrassed in talking openly about your menstrual cycle among friends? As girls, we all have come across situations in which we were asked to speak low or not speak at all when the topic of the conversation was related to our natural cycle- periods. Whether the girl is at home or in public, the society has always found ways and means of silencing discussions on this topic. This has made the girls feel ashamed of a process which is purely natural and nothing to be ashamed of in the very first place.

The way we have been born and brought up is to be blamed for making us believe in the perception that periods are a taboo. Firstly, whenever anyone purchases a sanitary napkin, it is mostly sold wrapped in black polythene or a newspaper, indicating an item which should be hidden away from the narrow minded lenses of the people around. This in turn has misled girls and others into believing that whatever comes in those wrapped covers should not be talked about much, as if it is a crime to do so.

Secondly, since majority consumes mass media through television, the depiction of sanitary napkins in mainstream advertisements has raised voices accusing it to reinforcing a natural process as a taboo. Instead of showing blood in its true shade which is red, most of the advertisements rather show the blood flow to be blue in colour. By selecting a colour different from the original one, the public is exposed to a media which reinforces the image of periods as prohibited topic of conversation.

Thirdly, another way in which our society has made the girls believe that going through periods is an issue of humiliation is through the reactions that a girl receives on getting a red stain over her clothes. To bleed and get stains is a part and parcel of periods. Instead of creating a fuss out of the situation, a person needs to understand that such actions would only make the girl feel more embarrassed about it and not help much.

Fourthly, the manner in which students are educated regarding periods during their biology lectures leads to both girls and boys thinking that having periods is a matter of shame. For example, there have been instances in which the teacher has simply asked students to read topics related to menstruation at home and very conveniently skipped it in school. Rather than creating mystery around the subject of menstruation, the teachers should teach the students its meaning and reasons of occurrence, treating it like any other topic to be taught in the class.

Lastly, one of the most evident ways in which our society has misled people into believing that having periods is like being cursed is by restricting their movements inside places such as the temple and kitchens. Prevalent in the Hindu traditions, a girl is treated as an unclean person during the four days of the month that she bleeds, not permitting her to step inside the sacred place of worship or a kitchen. On one hand, the society prays and devotes prays towards holy goddesses while on the other hand, the same girls are made to feel insulted simply because of going through their natural cycle of menstruation.

Our society needs to be educated on periods and taught that why it is not a taboo. Discussions around this topic should be had both at home and in school. From a young age, both boys and girls should be made aware of such natural processes and it should be done in a manner so that none of them misinterprets periods as an unclean and derogatory happening.