#EMBRACEPERIOD #MENSTRUALPOVERTY #MENSTRUALHYGIENE #LEEDWITHPRIDE #DEVI

Period poverty is a serious concern in many countries, specifically India. Period poverty is the struggle that many menstruators face while trying to afford menstrual products as a result of economic vulnerability, lack of awareness, and poor hygiene standards and sanitation facilities necessary to properly manage menstruation. Even an open discussion in schools is impossible and about 71% of girls in India are unaware of menstruation before their first period. Movies like PadMan and the #YesIBleed campaign caused a small stir in the country, but still, statistics say that in India 60% of adolescent girls missed school on account of menstruation and about 80% still use homemade pads.

Menstruation is one of the most natural and biological processes that occur recurrently every month for most adolescent girls, women, transgender, and nonbinary individuals. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) define menstrual hygiene as “the articulation, awareness, information, and confidence to manage menstruation with safety and dignity with adequate water, agents, and spaces for washing and bathing, and disposal with privacy and dignity”. Despite menstruation being downright natural, it is shrouded in stigma making it a “taboo” topic which augments the problem of period poverty. The shame, which is utterly intrinsic to periods, is so far deep entrenched in our society that it deters menstruating individuals from availing of the required products such as sanitary napkins, menstrual cups, etc.

As long as the menstrual cycle continues to be viewed through the lens of impurity, grossness, and shamefulness it will persist to be shrugged off by society, posing further problems for individuals. Impediments of an inadequate menstrual hygiene system are not limited to cisgender women. Menstrual hygiene is often perceived as a “lady’s problem”, which unfolds the issue of gender inclusivity as transgender and non-binary individuals also menstruate.

Aims & Objectives of Future Flier Foundation:

The restrictions in health, hygiene, self-expression, schooling, mobility, freedom and space, and gender broadly have a far reaching and damaging impact on girls and women. No single body or government can have a magic wand to completely root out the problem. Charity begins at home and the first step in ensuring a better world can be achieved if we ostracize the stigmas and the menstruators. Every policy initiative will have its own weaknesses but everything can be overcome if we are committed to a scientific based temper. It is 2024 and at the dawn of this scientific age, it is high time for all of us to shed off the futile customs and ensure dignity to every individual. We can all do our bit by recognising Menstruation as being one of the important problems of the century by amending our thought process and changing our surroundings a little so that we can answer ourselves when asked whether or not are we bleeding with pride.

1. Communicating and spreading awareness among people about menstruation in rural India.
2. Providing access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products to underprivileged girls and women.
3. To host special workshops in villages and schools to provide hygiene training and awareness to both genders.
4. Inspiring young girls and women to become empowered and speak more often about their periods with their families to reduce work and school- related absenteeism.
5. Addressing obstacles stemming from cultural restrictions, misconceptions, myths, and taboos to financial barriers among rural people.
6. Awareness of detrimental consequences of disposable sanitary napkins on the environment and health.

The Menstrual Myths

Indian mythology explains menstruation with a story dating back to the Vedic times. In a fit of fury, Indradev killed a sage named Vritas and committed the crime of Brahma-hatya (killing a brahmin). When his prayers to Lord Vishnu were answered, he was suggested to divide the burden of his crimes among earth, trees, water, and women. However, the curse had to be passed along with a blessing. we interpreted it as a story of a woman’s courage to share others’ sorrow. It reflects that selfless actions bring in blessings. However, the stigmas associated with menstruation have impacted society to think exactly the opposite of it. any girls in India drop out of school when they begin menstruating due to the lack of gender- friendly infrastructure in schools. Lack of gender-sensitive education has resulted in a low understanding of puberty, menstruation, and reproductive health. The social and emotional fabric of a woman’s well-being is deteriorating.

Myth 1: Menstrual pain is just like a headache.

Menstrual pain is a medical condition called Dysmenorrhea. Approximately 20% of women have dysmenorrhea which is so severe that it hampers their daily activities. Even for the remaining 80%, it is not “just like a headache”. It can affect our ability to concentrate and makes us more anxious. So if you feel like taking a day off to curl up in your bed and rest until the cramps subside, listen to your body!

Myth 2: Period blood is dirty blood.

Menstruation isn’t your body’s way of flushing out toxins. Period blood would have nurtured your baby if you were pregnant. It’s like the blood that runs in your veins but has fewer blood cells. How can anything that has the potential to bring a new life to be dirty?

Myth 3: Only women have a menstrual cycle.

Not every woman gets her period. Not every female who gets a period recognizes themselves as a ‘woman’. The gender binary is a social construct that fewer people are adhering to nowadays. Transgender men may still get their periods while transgender women might not. A typical man also has a menstrual cycle (not loss of blood but a hormonal cycle). This is a human-centric issue. As an extension of this impurity argument, women are directed to live in isolation, and not enter the kitchen or the food will be spoilt. In certain cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to hold newborn babies else they might pass them their sick. All these norms were created by our ancients only to make sure that during the 7-day period of blood loss, a woman could get maximum rest. Further, access to hygienic infrastructure is necessary to avoid infections which were a rarity in ancient times.

Myth 4: A Menstruating Woman Is Impure.

The so-called guardians and interpreters of our religion and religious texts have banned the entry of women into religious institutions. They refer to menstruating women as impure. Over the years, care became a curse and got manipulated into stigmas and taboos. The true reason why our scriptures state so is that the womb of a woman is considered sacrosanct even by the Gods as it is the nourisher of new life. This is also the reason why women perform the Paanchang Namaskaar to Gods, unlike the men who perform the Shaashtaang Namaskaar.

Root Causes of Period Poverty

1. High prices of sanitary products, lack of awareness about their usage, or the normalisation of silence around menstruation and its cultural ignorance as a “women’s problem”—these are some of the many reasons that have worsened period poverty in India. The problem of period poverty is threefold: lack of awareness, acceptance, and access.
2. Extremely poor hygiene standards, For many in rural India, menstrual hygiene is non-existent. Scarcity of water, lack of menstrual products, and proper toilets make matters difficult. According to official data, of the 10.83 lakh government schools in the country, 15000 have no toilets. This lack of sanitation facilities is glaring and worsens the situation for so many young menstruators.
3. Lack of awareness and knowledge about menstruation. A study has found that 71% of girls in India report having no knowledge of menstruation before their first period. This unpreparedness leads to shock, fear, frustration at the situation, and anxiety. And that often results in school dropouts.
4. Lack of (WASH) facilities in school settings clean, private, and gender-specific, water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities are documented to be associated with menstruation-related school absenteeism among girls.
5. Cultural restrictions, age of girls, and mother’s education are said to play an influence on menstruation-related school absenteeism.
6. Self-reported factors such as menstrual pain, fear of staining clothing, and fear of being teased at school have also been reported to be associated with school and job absenteeism.

India’s Period Poverty

According to Feminism India, those who cannot afford menstrual products resort to unsafe alternatives such as “rags, hay, sand, and ash,” which can lead to infections. Period poverty is a continuing issue in India due to the cultural stigma surrounding menstruation. Many people consider menstruation a taboo topic that they should not discuss. In India, research has indicated that 71% of girls do not have “knowledge of menstruation before their first period.” This lack of knowledge and stigma surrounding menstruation has led to one out of every five female students dropping out of school once menstruation begins. In addition, more than 40% of female students in India choose not to attend school during their menstrual cycle due to the inability to access menstrual products to properly manage their menstruation coupled with the social stigma menstruating girls face at schools.

Future Flier Foundation Activities:

1. Considering the exclusion of any vulnerable menstruator (girls with physical and mental disabilities, trans-men, adolescent girls living in streets, child labourers and individuals. Will provide Period Pack containing sanitary products and a mini hygiene kit.
2. Will communicate and Break the strong restriction amongst males to learn about these issues as a repercussion of shame and disgrace identified with the process. As it is important, both young boys and girls are included in discussions around menstruation as this can establish a bridge of understanding beyond social stigma.
3. Will focus on linguistic diversity across the country as it is essential to emphasize how such education is required to be formulated in vernacular in a sensitive way to reach out to the grass root.
4. We would like to see street connected girls continue with education programs, be protected from associated health risks and access much needed sanitary products without stigma or embarrassment.
5. Awareness programmes (Menstrual Hygiene, PMS, Period Poverty and Reproductive Health Management) through participative learning for all gender to eradicate the colossal problem of period poverty that continues to persist in the country.
6. Period & Hygiene kit distribution in Govt. schools, villages and wherever required.
7. Proper waste disposal training to people to dump their used pads and not to pollute environment and contaminate water.
8. A digital platform for sharing small movies and documentaries focusing on real problems related to period poverty.
9. Inviting and publishing articles, poetries and research papers for making global awareness and sharing about period poverty.
10. Area wise small survey to get to know about the grass root causes and preventive measures to be adopted for period poverty.
11. Providing helpline number for getting future requirements from the needy ones, govt. Schools, villages.
12. Each Hygiene kit includes: Sanitary napkins, Bathing soap, Detergent, Pair of undergarments, Towel