If you have your period then why hide it?

Narrated to Sonam by Bhavna of Baithankhurd village, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

About 4 months ago, Sonam Didi of an organization came to our village. She invited all the girls and women for a program. And told that this program is special only for women and girls. And in this program we will tell about a special day. I am very happy that there is such a day in our life which is so special. I don’t even know. I asked my mother that my father celebrated or said that there is no special day in the life of women. I was heartbroken. I wanted to know about that day. Because people always looked at us with inferiority complex, I started waiting for tomorrow when they will come, only then I will be able to know.

I still remember that day: 28 May 2024, the day I came to know about the women in the FORCE organization. When many people from the FORCE organization came to the program in the village, in which there was one woman and the rest were men, we were all called and told that today is world menstruation day . All of us girls were blushing with shame when Madam made us draw the picture of a sanitary napkin through rangoli. Seeing this, the women of our village tried to object but Madam explained to them that periods are not a wrong thing. Because periods are the identity of being a woman, if there are no periods then we cannot become mothers and this world cannot be created. And we were told that we must question myths like we can’t go to the temple during periods, touch pickles, touch trees. We have this conservative thinking today this should be changed so that today’s girls do not consider periods as a disease or something dirty. Whenever periods come, you should eat everything at that time like jaggery, gram, curd, milk, green vegetables, nutritious food etc. You should keep consulting the doctor from time to time. After listening to all this I was thinking that our mother always forbids us from doing and eating all these things, after that madam told me about periods We can talk openly with everyone at home, if we have periods then how can we hide it After that the sir who had come in the program started talking about periods and some people started leaving from there and some started laughing. He told me that it is not so easy to make them understand, sir told me that we want to change this thinking of yours. Period is a respectable action which all males should view with respect. All the women were stopped with great difficulty. Then a rally was taken out in the whole village so that this message could reach every house. Slogans were raised, I was very happy because now I will not have to hide my periods.

The program ended and everyone went to their homes. When I went to my home, I said to my mother in anger, you used to say not to do this, not to do this, but during the period we should do everything, everyone should eat something and talk about it openly in front of everyone. I was saying this when my father came, there was another uncle with him, my mother signalled me to keep quiet, but I opposed my mother and said what was wrong in this, mother got angry and asked me to go inside, I went inside crying. Mummy and Papa both came to me at night. Mummy might have told Papa about the program. Papa told me that I know periods are not wrong but do not say this in front of everyone. Whatever the matter is, you can tell me and Papa told me that I was also listening to that program. I am happy that you also became aware about periods. I am with you. This was the biggest happiness of my life which I can never forget.

I took an oath that day that I will make girls like me aware about periods.

Thanks to FORCE organization which changed the thinking of my family and gave me a good experience regarding periods.