Free The Period: The Stigma Around Menstruation in Pakistan
In Pakistan's highly conservative society, menstruation has been a topic that is always discussed behind closed doors- we must de-stigmatize menstruation.
Have you noticed what happens when you normally mention the word menstruation or periods? Dead silence. You can sense the uncomfortableness from afar, men shifting in their seats, their eyes wide with astonishment, and the women in the family embarrassed to death. Menstruation in Pakistan has always been a hush-hush topic, something that is seen as unclean, secret, and generally closed for discussion.
When a young girl in Pakistan gets her period, most of the time, their mothers ask them not to share this information with any of the males in the family. She is taught that her menstruation cycle is something that is unclean or something that must be kept secret at all times. However, menstruation is a necessary biological function that is experienced by half of the population, yet it is still considered dirty.
As you grow, your body goes through several bodily or hormonal changes, one of which is the starting of your menstrual cycle. Your menstruation cycle is your body basically preparing for pregnancy every month, even if you’re not pregnant. In simpler terms, your body has two ovaries- these ovaries hold a couple of egg cells, which if fertilized, formulate into a living breathing human being! So, when your egg cell has reached maturity and is ready to be fertilized it forms thick layers around your uterus, these layers are usually made up of blood tissues. Now, if your egg isn’t fertilized and you aren’t pregnant, your uterus no longer needs the thick layers and sheds them which is how you ‘get your period‘.
The process is described so thoroughly above to prove that menstruation is truly a biological process, and there is nothing wrong with it. Stigmatizing menstruation is more of a social construct and due to the taboos developed around the idea of menstruation, especially in Pakistan, there is little to no education or awareness regarding the topic.
In Pakistan, generally, there is a lot of taboo attached to menstruation in Pakistan. Several myths and misconceptions have haunted women for all their lives- “Don’t take a bath, don’t touch or drink cold water, don’t eat spicy food!” Several studies have found out that girls in Pakistan are extremely uninformed regarding menstruation, they have very limited knowledge regarding the topic. Our educational systems and teachers fail to inform us efficiently over the subject, so the primary source of information for young girls is their mother or elder sister(s).
Unfortunately, this information is only considered necessary to share once the girl’s menstruation period begins which is why they are usually unprepared to deal with it. Most girls in Pakistan would skip schools for as long as their menstrual cycle would last, because they were not sure of whether they could leave the house o not, nor did they have access to proper sanitary products.
Unable to receive adequate access to sanitary products, being unaware of the hygiene factors are a few of the most alarming situations in Pakistan. Women in village areas are using pieces of cotton as sanitary pads, which they would then wash and re-use. Sometimes sisters would share the same sanitary napkins because they could either not afford the commercial sanitary products, or their families would not allow it as they believed that commercial sanitary napkins were laced with chemicals and harmful.
In 2019, Hajra Bibi, a woman living in the Northwestern mountainous areas in Pakistan would hand stitch sanitary napkins for the women to maintain their hygiene while menstruating. “I am responding to a crisis,” said the 35-year-old mother, sitting in front of her small, doily-covered work table in the village of Booni, close to the Afghan border. “Before, Booni’s women had no idea what sanitary towels were,” she explained.
Hajra Bibi was given the training to make the disposable sanitary pads, made of cotton, plastic, and cloth, by the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), an NGO working with Unicef, in a scheme that aims to change attitudes to women’s health regarding menstruation.
Initially, the community insulted her and was deeply disturbed by her distributing pads so openly since it was such a secretive topic. However, she said soon girls began to realize how important it was to maintain their hygiene and how the need for proper education regarding menstruation is imminent.
While Hajra Bibi is one of the few who are working tirelessly to make lives for women easier, there are still countless women in multiple areas across Pakistan who do not have access to basic sanitary products, who are misinformed, have no information about menstruation at all, or are simply too poor to afford the luxury that is sanitary products.
The commercialization of sanitary products is extremely unfair and wrong. Why must women have to pay for something they have no control over? Why are we charged for basic biological functions? The Pink Tax or the selling of sanitary products is highly inappropriate and unnecessary. Menstruation a bodily function that does not need to be hidden from the public, it is not dirty, it is what it is. A normal biological process.
Women in Pakistan must be educated regarding menstruation. Our educational institutes must practice inclusivity and teach young girls so that they are prepared for their first period. The government should ensure the availability of sanitary products in all areas of Pakistan free of cost. Pink Tax should be eradicated from society.
Sanitary products should be a necessity not a luxury. It should not be a privilege to be able to purchase such products, we must normalize menstruation and move onto a more progressive society in Pakistan!
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