Scenario in late 80’s through 90’s.
Silence around menstruation was intense. Working with women’s groups those years, we slowly built up a knowledge base on superstitions, attitudes and practices. Women would only open up if they had health problems. It was difficult to speak to men, they had mastered the art of avoiding period talks over the years. Clinics and hospitals were far away and badly connected from rural areas and hence not accessed. Women went to nearby sources for relief – the traditional healer – the bhopa – who dispensed herbs and most often pinpoint the source of trouble to ‘being possessed’.
Remedies such as sacrificing a chicken or others would be prescribed to appease gods, ghosts or ancestors – for ailments ranging from excessive white discharge to infections. The ‘health problem’ would either disappear with time or persist. Menstrual cloth in the form of rags was harvested from the old garments, towels and sheets.
These were worn with the help of draw strings tied around the waist. In the desert regions of Rajasthan (Jaisalmer), a rectangular shaped pocket was filled with fine sand to use as an absorbent. In the hill areas of Uttrakhand, ash was used. Superstitions and taboos governed management – there were many, but one practice stood out – hiding menstrual cloth in dark corners away from men in the belief that they would go blind if they saw it.
This made the cloth unsafe as it never got sterilised by sunlight. Disposable menstrual products were not commonly available at the district or block levels, one would find these only at a chemist’s shop and this would be purchased by the affluent. Latrines or spaces with privacy did not exist. Women changed menstrual cloth behind the bushes, in their rooms at home, typically twice a day – at dusk and dawn – giving room for potential health problems. Many women and girls being illiterate were marginalised from information.
At the governmental level, menstrual health was not on the community medicine agenda. In 1992, the Government of India programmes focused on aspects such as family planning which was target oriented. The Reproductive and Child Health Programme (RCH) in 1997, was not target driven, hence menstrual health got space but it was not completely addressed. In the NGO sector, Child In Need Institute (CINI – founded 1974) and Chetna (founded 1984), were some of the pioneers addressing menstrual health under reproductive health (RH), using the “Life Cycle Approach” to include every stage in a woman’s reproductive life.
HAS SILENCE AROUND MENSTRUATION REALLY BEEN BROKEN? Individuals too were making significant contributions. Yashodhara and Abhijit Das, health activists worked for menstrual hygiene awareness in the Almora hill region of Northern India in 1999. Scenario from 2000 to 2005 I was fortunate to be a recipient of a fellowship in the year 2000 and through this found a platform to bring design to the forefront of menstruation management by developing a reusable cloth sanitary napkin with hold up straps.
Adolescent girls called this design the ‘Lace Wallah Kapda‘ or ‘Lace Wallah Gaba‘ – cloth with lace (straps) to separate this from the ordinary Kapda/Gaba – the ordinary cloth.
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