Period. WHAT?
The first time I heard of “menstruation stigma” I didn’t know how deep-rooted it was in our society. I live in a city where menstruation is not much of an issue. I experienced it for the first time when I visited my friends’ native place. I saw a girl sitting in a corner, waiting for food. The food was served in a different way too, then the plate was pushed from one corner of the room to another, to reach the girl. I was so confused! I didn’t know what was happening, that’s when my friend nudged me to let it go, she said she’ll explain it later. That incident occupied my mind for the rest of the day. And then my friend said, “that girl is on her period”. I couldn’t comprehend, my first reflexive reply was “So?” That’s when the whole social stigma related to periods came to life for me and I understood the gravity of the situation. “Women in rural India are treated as impure when they are bleeding, they’re not allowed to talk or touch anyone, their utensils are different, they are ke...