Back when I was in school, there would be a specific time in the year when us girls alone would be asked to assemble in the auditorium. Teachers would stand guard at the doors to ward off curious boys from sneaking in. An audio visual presentation would follow wherein we were initiated into the truths about puberty, periods, health, diet, the utility of sanitary napkins and generally, the do-s and don’ts of the entire cycle. The girls-only auditorium would be filled with voices of embarrassment and awkwardness but a sense of camaraderie as well. But soon, the dread of going back to the classes with the boys waiting to ask us where we went, would begin to plague us. The general hushed tone of the entire event was not an easy one to deal with. To make matters worse, we would each be gifted a sanitary napkin! How do we carry it back to the class without the boys noticing? The 'no one should know' tenor of the entire monthly cycle was stressful. To add to this, some of us had to comply with rules back home too; where to sit, what to wear, what not to touch during those three days were a big deal.
“The attitudes are exactly the same even today in schools and of course homes, too,” says Aditi Gupta, the founder of Menstrupedia, an organization that sells guides to women and young girls to acquaint them with the facts of menstruation and the changes in one’s body during puberty. “What we try to do slightly differently is to try and involve the boys too. We also attempt to bust some of the myths,” she adds.
Started in 2013, Menstrupedia makes comic books (www.menstrupedia.com) and these comics recently won an award at the National Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for gender sensitivity in New Delhi. The books, whose protagonists are Pinky, Mira, Jia, and Priya didi, have sections on ‘Growing Up’, ‘What are Periods’, ‘When is my next period’, ‘Taking care during periods’ etc. Menstrupedia sells these books to NGOs, individuals, and schools, who in turn use it in varied ways to educate children.
It all began for Aditi when she, as a young girl from a small town, faced the taboo surrounding menstruation while growing up. Forced to comply with the restrictive practices that girls are made to go through during their monthly cycle, Aditi too knew no other way, she says. Things changed when she joined the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad where the idea for Menstrupedia was born. The comic was then developed over 18 months.
Aditi also realised that simply providing books may not suffice. So, she began to pitch in with workshops too. “Last year, girls in 10 government schools got the books. Since the books are available in regional languages too, it’s easier to partner with organizations who take the books to government schools and villages. Apart from this, we also have a free resource for educators i.e. a trainer’s guide for those who wish to use the books in schools,” she explains.
Myth breaking
“Generally when I conduct workshops, I tell the kids to flip through the pages of the book. Then I ask them to name the body parts that the book discusses and the girls yell saying ‘vagina, urethra’ and so on. This is actually liberating because a huge part of our endeavour is also to remove the taboo around the topic and bust the myths associated with menstruation and a woman’s body.”
But is that easy, considering the girls will have to go back to their homes and into a society which still believes in some of these myths?
“I agree. While there is a lot of information that I can give in class, when these girls go home, the reality is different. So I ask the girls to go and read these books with their mothers and their brothers. I ask boys too to read these books with their sisters. It is easy to shape the mind of a young girl. But it all starts with stating the facts first. If there is a false statement and you are trying to prove it wrong, then it takes a lot of effort but instead, if you directly present the facts, it works better. So I don’t approach it from the perspective of anti-religion/pro-religion, but from the point of view of biology.” What about the myths that suggest a girl is impure or not fit to enter the kitchen or the temple? “Girls have tears in their eyes when they tell us ‘my mother does not allow me to sit next to her or go inside the kitchen when I have my period’. It is very difficult to tell them that their mother is wrong. But instead, I tell them that these are old practices and now that they are smart and educated, they can try to change things. It is difficult because these are sensitive topics and change cannot happen in two hours.”
The urban malaise
Aditi also conducts workshops for teachers. So, who is more difficult to teach- teachers or young girls? Aditi has a rather different answer to give. “Actually the distinction is between urban and rural. Once, when I was conducting a workshop for urban, high society women, I got one response which was, ‘Yes I’ve heard you but I will not allow my daughter to enter the temple’. Urban women show a lot more resistance than their rural counterparts. Their approach is generally to ask me who I am to tell them these things.”
Even getting through to schools, sometimes, is difficult, she says. “A principal of a school once would not even look at me when I talked about Menstrupedia. Schools are worried parents will complain if they allow us to conduct a workshop about the reproductive system or talk about periods or even sex. However, teachers generally respond well once they take a look at our material.” There is also the added dimension of an inadequate or sometimes non-existent infrastructure for sex education in most schools.
Aditi and the number of NGOs that have partnered with her organization therefore, go around trying to educate both boys and girls about their bodies, urging them to name their body parts with confidence and not censor them. Usually, they start with nine-year old kids. “It is interesting to see how nine-year old boys respond. Gender roles have not been defined yet at their age. So they ask us why is it that only girls can give birth to children, what they should do if their mother is having her period etc.”
So far, Menstrupedia has reached 24,000 girls in India and 1,000 in Nepal. “It will take a lot of time but things are gradually changing and I’m optimistic about that,” says Aditi.
Corrections & Clarifications:
This article has been edited for a factual error.
