“You see, to us, having a period was humiliating or exhilarating, instead of something that normally happened to every woman.”
― Binati Sheth.
Throughout history, shame and taboo around the menstrual cycle, and their implications upon people have been at a detriment to their humanity. Most world religions have imposed the belief that menstruation is a sin which is punishable by nature. This includes including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. To this day, people who menstruate, are told they are polluting and dirty, may be isolated from their community, prohibited from places of worship and rejected from their communities throughout their cycle (Cohen, 2020; Bhartiya, 2013).
It is clear menstruation is a human rights issue; menstrual experiences are shaped by gender stereotypes, race, age, disability, economic, migration status and other factors. Also, it is a public health and development issue, with low-resource areas, and communities with imposing religious beliefs experiencing the most stigma when it comes to menstruation.
Unfortunately, these beliefs and lack of knowledge impact access to proper sanitation and hygiene products to use. Currently, 500 million people are not able to access the products they need to support themselves whilst menstruating (UN, 2022). This leaves them with insufficient hygiene products and feelings of embarrassment, which can negatively impact their access to education and work (Osea, 2018; Adrija Datta et al., 2012).
Negative menstrual experiences are common globally; US university students have stated how their cycle can affect their education (Munro, Hunter, Hossain, & Keep, 2021). However, marginalized populations across western societies may tackle more feelings of shame and stigma which affect their ability to speak out.
Migrant and refugee women from Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan have shared that speaking about menstruation was seen as “shameful”, something only “naughty girls” talk about, so bad that it was only “gossip” to talk about. Consequently, women who have broken this taboo were seen as “whores” who had “no values at all”. Women who have also experienced this shame have been known to take more risks with their sexual behaviours and internalise more shame when it comes to their reproductive organs and breastfeeding (Ussher et al., 2017).
With these issues, it is incredibly important that we support each other to rise through the embedded shame of our cycles, stand up for each other and reach out.
Steps to take:
Open conversations and get informed.
Donate hygiene products (contact redefined.npo@gmail.com to donate these products in the Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax areas).
Donate financial means: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donation-form/fc159243-c683-4945-9ede-fb0eca14e8cc
Become a volunteer for refined ( https://redefinednpo.wixsite.com/re-define/about-3-1 ) or join the WhatsApp group ( https://chat.whatsapp.com/Ht1veMbLIZfJTSJ25RLTbl )
Support and invest in campaigns which support those in other countries we cannot reach.
Please see below to unlearn and relearn the realities of menstruation:
Re-defined is a non-profit, student-led organisation founded by Ritika Saraswat. The organisation's main objective is to empower marginalized communities through networking, community drives, mentorship and events. Initiatives have included the ‘Ruth x Menstrual Hygiene’ event where a sanitary product collection event was set up to raise awareness around period poverty. Re-defined have also started the Ghana educational Program in order to help 500 women in Ghana learn about the importance of menstrual and sexual health. In the last 10 months Re-defined has impacted 20,000 and 10,00 students and people across 4 countries, including India, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria. Currently, Re-defined are working to create comic books narrating these issues to supply to school children globally, in order to normalise education and improve the well-being of young people.