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The 28th of May is celebrated worldwide as a Menstrual Hygiene and Awareness Day. The significance of celebrating your period and spreading awareness on good menstrual hygiene management is crucial, especially in our stigma domineering society. Menstrual periods are an incredibly important season for bodies of multiple genders. Human anatomy is fascinating in the way it facilitates the rigorous nature of our organs and how absolutely everything is interconnected and can become complex to perceive and accept, however, it is definitely nothing to feel defeated or become shameful about.
Red is the New Green is an NGO striving for an inclusive country and world where stigma attached to periods and menstrual hygiene is abolished and economic inequality through sustainable practices are promoted. They routinely conduct awareness sessions, install sanitary napkin vending machines and educate the masses about sustainable disposal solutions. On 28th May they also hosted India’s first period party at the wonderful WeWork Coworking space in Marol. The celebration was peppered with stalls selling period kits, menstrual cups, reusable pads, and tampons; a true period party!
The events for the day began with the screening of Oscar-winning short documentary ‘Period. End of Sentence.’ Guneet Monga who produced the short was present and talked about the general stigma associated with periods and how important it is to openly converse about menstruation in spaces such as this. ‘Period. End of Sentence’ exemplifies the journey of rural woman who are also internally struggling with the concept of participating in an active conversation about periods and their effects. The short is beautifully envisioned by Iranian-American director Rayka Zehtabchi.
Moving on, an interactive session with Natasha Noel on the many functions of the uterus and how to make sure your health and hygiene are not compromised during your period or during sex or any strenuous physical activity, Natasha’s pulsating energy made the room spirited about educating ourselves and listening to our bodies.
The panel discussion included activists, athletes and writers Harish Iyer, Rytasha Rathore, Nisha Gupta, Mridol and Rega Jha. Beginning the session with a pilot discourse on the empowerment of menstruation through the accurate knowledge of menstruation. What is menstruation? How do we address period related issues? What is the vocabulary we choose to use?
The panelists narrated their relationship to their periods through familiar naming such as calling your period ‘best friend’ or ‘the time of the month’. The subtle names we use to cover up the underlying shame of having your period. Mridol, a trans-activist who advocates for the struggles of trans people, walked us through the complexities of being a transman who does experience their period once a month. A large overlying tone of the panel was on how we as people need to start being more inclusive in our policies, conversations, and portrayals of experience, sex, and gender. Questions surrounding accessibility and patriarchial theories need to be asked and abolished.
India’s first period party was a wonderful event and place for the conversation surrounding periods to start and open from. Maybe the bubble of acceptance and of love; where we celebrate our bodies and time of menstruation, can become the general norm; replacing shame and guilt.
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