Menstruation Day: Girls of Purulia Rejecting Taboos and Normalising Menstruation
The onset of menstruation among girls brings about various physical, physiological and psychological changes in the girl’s body, however, in most cases these girls are not aware about the phenomenon until it occurs. After beginning to menstruate, girls are imparted with knowledge around menstruation which typically restricts their movements and tells them what not to do and how to behave during menstruation along with other superstitions. These taboos and believes restrict the girls from seeking help and performing other personal and social activities such as going to religious places, using the kitchen, going to vegetable fields, etc. In rural West Bengal, there is limited awareness among the girls regarding the hygienic practises during menstruation. According to the National Family Health Survey 2019-2021, 38.8 percent girls between the ages 15-19 and 46.3 percent girls between the ages 20-24 in West Bengal use cloth pieces during menstruation which is considered unsafe.
Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) has been working on women’s health, sanitation and nutritional requirement since 2016 in Jhalda 1 and Jhalda 2 Block in Purulia district of West Bengal and so far, reached out to more than 4000 adolescent girls. For the past years, creation of a safe space to talk about menstruation followed with rigorous awareness camps and demonstrations have helped the girls to break away from their fear and shyness. Earlier the girls would shy away from even accepting that they go through menstruation. Their source of information and knowledge were either their siblings or female friends who were of the same age. They would even miss school for the fear of staining their clothes as they did not use hygienic methods such as sanitary napkins, locally prepared napkins, etc or consult the doctor when undergoing tremendous pain. The girls were not aware about the functioning of the female reproductive system or why they got their periods every month. They would dry their cloths in the shade, away from people’s sight. One girl recalls how she thought she had sinned when she got her first period.