There are a handful of dates that I remember for the rest of my life and the day I got my period is one of them. Rewinding to 6 years ago, while I was going over my literature lessons in my extra class, my so-called friend saw a deep, red, gunky-gross stain on my ivory white skirt. Unfortunately, the reddish stain on my skirt did garner lots of attention from my hawked-eyed classmates. A mob of snitches who were in my extra class jumped into buzzing around me and bad-mouthing about my blood-stained uniform. Even then, some of my armchair-critic male classmates nimbly scrutinized me from head to toe and broke down laughing as if I was an eccentric girl. As for me, needless to say, because of embarrassment and shame, my face immediately turned red and tears started welling in my eyes.
Up to date, this heart-breaking experience that revolves around period-shaming I faced keeps rooted in my mind and reminisces the huge phase within my biological function. However, my story is a drop of an ocean and I am not the ONLY victim of period-shaming. Women who menstruate are tackling conscious or unconscious shame about their period cycle.
It isn’t drastically bizarre to anticipate the world to perceive and respect menstruation as a natural-biological cycle in girls. In many communities around the world, the topic of menstruation is taboo and period shaming follows as a consequence. Female period process is considered to be filthy, something that should be concealed and not put on the discussion. This factor creates sentiments of shame, embarrassment, and uncomfortableness for those who are experiencing it. People who menstruate have been discriminated against and shamed; which is ludicrous because, not only is menstruation a normal biological process, it is also a major reason gender inequality against women exists. Case in point, in the UK, 20 percent of girls admitted to missing school whilst on their period. Whilst this number increases to one in ten globally, and that is just the start! For many girls, once their period starts they will stop school altogether due to feeling a sense of shame or to implicit cultural understandings.
Thankfully, feminists around the world are starting to create a culture of celebration and pride around menstruation and the hormone life cycle (including menopause). Globally, advocates are fighting for a woman’s right to manage her period with ease and dignity in order to live a happy and fulfilled life.
As for all the young girls out there, ‘Your experiences of going to school or college with consistent cramps all over your body doesn’t mess you up. It proves the power of creation and your inner-feminine strength for which you deserve only love and respect. Give this world a little more time to understand, not everyone is as strong as you.' Furthermore, I strive to give some messages to men who are inclined to be a brother, a father, and a husband of a girl: " Menstruation is tough. The mood swings, pain, and discomfort only make matters worse. Please, respect, resonate, and relate to our feminine biological process. Pass us a hot cup of water to soothe our menstrual cramps."