Let's talk about period

When I first got my period it was a stressful experience, as I imagine for a lot of young girls. I was meant to go to a school trip but didn’t feel well at all and my stomach hurt a lot, so I decided to stay home. Fortunately, my mum was very supportive so I didn’t feel alone during this new experience. Even though everyone knows about periods, I still feel that it’s a taboo subject to talk about. It just feels weird even to go to the supermarket and buy period products, I feel observed the whole time (even though it’s just my paranoia). Fortunately, there are my closest friends to whom I can talk about it openly without feeling uncomfortable. Maybe it’s the similar age or because we’re really close, but it just makes it so much easier to talk to them because they go through the same stuff as I do.

I recently saw a documentary on Netflix which talked about period and how women around the world struggle to access sanitary products. It was called Period. End of sentence. It was eye-opening for me. I guess I never gave much thought of how girls worldwide interpret fertility in different ways because I’m very lucky to have grown up in a society where I could openly buy sanitary products and access clean water. I was especially surprised by the amount of stigma surrounding this normal topic. I mean I get embarrassed talking about it sometimes but I never knew that in some societies menstruation is perceived in such a negative way.

For example, Greek writers in the past thought of period blood as a harmful fluid which had to be expelled. Also during the 1800s in USA this was seen as a disgraceful fluid and this perception still lasted for centuries. Unfortunately, still today in Afghanistan 62% of young women use old pieces of clothing (because pads cost too much) and some only wash these at night-time to not be seen. Also in Egypt it’s seen as a thing to be kept secretive as some stores wrap newspaper around female hygiene products to not be seen when delivering them. Furthermore, in Georgia and Barbados tampons are seen as a danger to your virginity and could ruin your reputation as a respectable young woman in these conservative societies. (I got this info from women’s statements in, you can read this article from Women’s Health. If you want to read more about how period is perceived by women worldwide, open the link).

It’s concerning how something as natural as a menstrual cycle can be painted as something to be ashamed of rather than celebrated. This can be harmful to a young person’s life who can feel discriminated against or isolated every month during these few days. Moreover, all the stigmas surrounding this time of fertility can be scary especially for a teenager who needs to face these body changes without talking freely about it. The UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Sanjay Wijesekera) said that “Meeting the hygiene needs of all adolescent girls is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity, and public health.”

One of the biggest concerns surrounding menstrual cycles is also the poverty affecting many young women who live in developing countries. Period poverty is defined as “being unable to afford female sanitary products” by Collins Dictionary. According to UNICEF, young women with disabilities find it particularly hard to find facilities and products to maintain a healthy personal hygiene during menstruation. Besides, just 27% of people living in a developing country have access to clean water and soap at home. Furthermore, these hygiene products are also missing from many schools in these poor countries which push female students to miss school when they have their period.

However, throughout the years much has been done to tackle this worldwide issue. The UK Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt said last May that she’ll help run the Period Poverty Taskforce. This initiative will help educate young people about periods and provide free sanitary products to young women. According to ActionAid one very 10 girls in Africa won’t attend lessons at school during their menstrual cycle. As a result, the charity tried to improve this by setting up rooms designed for girls to change and wash during their periods near schools in Rwanda.

I feel like that much more needs to be done in order to give young women an opportunity to learn openly about periods and access all the products that they need. However, it's really encouraging to see so many initiatives being taken to tackle this issue because young people need to understand that menstruation is a perfectly normal process and they deserve better.

Read about the importance of being Period Positive by clicking on this link. If you are further interested in knowing about period poverty, you can watch this TED Talk and see the importance of new projects and education to improve this. This is only one of the many that you can watch on their website.