The Stigma Behind Periods
Growing up, I have heard many myths and stories surrounding periods from the adults around me. One statement that has been ingrained into…
Growing up, I have heard many myths and stories surrounding periods from the adults around me. One statement that has been ingrained into my head ever since I was a little girl was that getting your menstruation is the best and worst thing that could happen to a girl. The best because it’s a sign of womanhood, a new found maturity within us. It means we’re not the same naive little girl we were before despite most of us being barely teenagers when we first got ours. But it’s also the worst because of the excruciating pain we have to go through every month for a week.
Sure, getting your period means going through puberty, indicating changes in our body but does that mean we should hold young girls accountable to the same level as adults? Why is it that girls are told from a young age they mature faster while boys will be boys? Such a perspective not only takes away any sort of repercussions from the boys but it also indirectly tells girls to grow up faster and face responsibility from a young age. This could be due to going through puberty earlier and part of that is having menstruation. The misinformation around this topic is probably why so many people are not willing to speak up about it, with the fear of getting ridiculed and ostracised just for talking about something as integral and normal as a part of human anatomy. Period shaming is the reason why so many people are still misinformed about menstruation despite years of scientific knowledge and research about it.
Myths, Cultures and Period Shaming
The sole reason why there is still this huge stigma behind periods is because of cultural and religious beliefs. In many cultures, it is shameful to talk about your “time of the month” as it is something private and should be kept to yourself. Even the word ‘period’ is condemned to be said publicly, instead replaced with code words such as “strawberry week”, “mother nature” or even “Bloody Mary”. People are still uncomfortable talking about menstruation in general, although it is a normal bodily function. Sure, slang words may seem fun and harmless; however this reinforces the idea that periods are something we should hide and not talk about. Periods are also known to be “dirty” in many parts of the world. This leads to girls feeling they have a need to stay at home and exclude themselves from any activities.
Misinformations about periods can be very harmful to young girls in the long run. In Africa about one in 10 girls miss school during their periods and are absent for 10% to 20% of school days. Faith, a 13 year old girl from Kenya, talked about her experience getting her period for the first time. She mentioned she was scared and confused about this as she had not been educated about menstruation before this. It made her feel embarrassed and felt like she was being punished because of her period. If Faith were to be taught on this subject beforehand, she probably wouldn’t have to feel ashamed and scared. Unfortunately, many girls in Africa still lack basic knowledge on menstrual health due to the shame and taboo surrounding it. This eventually will lead to the downfall of girl’s education, which can result in many consequences such as child marriages, and most importantly, being ignorant to the world. Young girls should not be restricted from doing regular activities and be confined to their homes whenever their cycle comes.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), period shaming can lead to serious human rights issues. A report was commissioned by the UNFPA on how the stigma and misconceptions behind periods are linked to human rights violation such as gender discrimination and not having basic necesseties. The report suggests how period shaming can make women and girls feel inferior, believing they have no power to speak up whenever they are on their period. Child marriages, gender based violence and lack of education on menstruation is the byproduct of period shaming. It is reported that period misconceptions also prevent women and girls from doing daily tasks such as cooking and participating in activities. All these misinformations only perpetuates the idea of how having your period is unclean. This could hold back women and girls from actually developing as they are told to barricade themselves from the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, not everyone in every country is able to learn and educate themselves on menstruation. India, for example, still has a widespread issue of discriminating and shaming women who are menstruating. It is considered a taboo there and women are said to be ‘impure’ when they are on their periods. As mentioned before, women are restricted from attending any religious or social events and in some cases are kicked out of places of religious worship. An alarming percentage of adolescent girls are not educated on menstruation in India, with more than half of them being unaware of what it is until they have actually experienced it for themselves. Sadly, parents do not prepare their daughters for the future. Discussions about menstruation are often shamed upon. Due to culture and religious beliefs, many parents are afraid they will be condemned by society just by holding such an important and necessary talk with their young girls, thus leaving their daughters unprepared for the future.
The individuals’ health is also being affected by period shaming. In India only 36% of menstruating women use products that are meant for menstruation while the rest use whatever that is lying around such as old rags, husk, ash, leaves, mud and soil. Any material imaginable is used to manage their period. Not only is this extremely unhygienic, it is also really dangerous to these women’s health as these materials can be life-threatening when used as menstrual products. Lack of knowledge on menstruation could also result in mishandling of sanitary products such as flushing it down the toilet or throwing it into nature; therefore, the environment is also affected by this and poses a safety hazard to others as well.
Period Poverty
Not only are periods a taboo to talk about, many women around the world are facing period poverty. Although Malaysia seems to be a developing country, there is still a significant number of women and girls who do not have access to menstruation products. Sanitary products should not be a privilege but a right.
It is absurd how so many countries still have taxes on sanitary products. These taxes are often referred to as the pink tax. Products that most women use often are charged with this and one of them includes menstruation products. The pink tax in Malaysia came into effect in 2015, charging 6% on sanitary pads and tampons. This legislation received tons of criticism from the public. This decision not only reduces accessibility of sanitary products to low income families, it also forces people who have periods to bear the overpriced cost of menstruation products despite it not being a choice. It was only in 2018 where the government of Malaysia removed any taxes on pads and tampons. Despite the tax removal, there are still many women in Malaysia who still do not have access to basic necessities. The main cause for this is financial constraints. Furthermore, with the presence of Covid-19, households in Malaysia are struggling to stay financially stable. People are not able to purchase essentials including sanitary pads.
Period poverty can result in many serious consequences, one of them being health and safety issues. Some young girls from underprivileged communities who do not have access to sanitary products would use unhygienic materials for their periods. This can cause urinary tract and infections. Besides that, some girls in parts of Africa have to engage in “transactional sex” with men in trade for money to purchase sanitary products, a necessity. People should not have to go through these devastating and horrific events just to obtain something essential.
The government should subsidise these costs by providing free menstrual products especially to young children in school. New Zealand for example has decided to provide free period products to schools nationwide. According to the prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, this helps fight period poverty in New Zealand and also encourages young pupils to attend school even on their periods. In addition to this, Scotland is the first country to make period products free to anyone who needs them. Providing accessible solutions to people going through periods can help the country develop more as they are more likely to attend school and events as there is one less thing to worry about.
All of us should move past the censorship of periods. It is fine to hand over a pad to your friend publicly, for no one should be ashamed of it — it’s what a lot of us go through. By educating others, we can all fight the stigma behind periods and learn to be less ignorant towards it. Opening up and having questions about periods is not weird at all; in fact it just means we are trying to understand each other more.
School is a good place to start teaching young pupils on menstruation. Health classes can be held in schools to let young students have more understanding on reproductive health. Having conversations with children on reproductive health is necessary for their well-being as they will not feel ashamed of the changes they are going through. Period should be normalised so young children would feel comfortable opening up to their parents and peers about this. The stigma behind periods will hopefully be eradicated in the future, so that no one in the generations to come will ever feel ashamed to speak on this topic ever again.
Written by: Anne Rose. Edited by: Chien Wen.