The Alveshan family members are no longer embarrassed by the sight of her period schedule plastered on the door
“A while ago, I started putting a timetable on my door to let my family know when my period was. When my father and brother first saw him, they initially felt a bit surprised and embarrassed. But now they are used to it.”
This is what the young Indian Alveshan says, and she is not the only one in her city who does this, as there are dozens of women who share the same thing after joining a special campaign to raise awareness of women’s need for support during the menstrual cycle, and to reveal the type of problems and changes they face during that period.
Alveshan lives in the northern Indian city of Meerut, 100 kilometers west of New Delhi.
The initiative to launch this campaign is remarkable, as, in many parts of South Asia, simply referring to the menstrual cycle is taboo. In some rural and tribal societies, menstruating women are still forced to seclude themselves in private spaces, and use separate eating utensils.
menstrual cycle schedules
Those practices of separating menstruating women are becoming less common today, and now activists are leading campaigns to encourage women to open up about their periods by hanging charts showing their menstrual dates.
Alveshan says the initiative has already worked marvelously for her.
She explains, “Women suffer from many problems during their menstrual cycles. It has hiccups, hypersensitivity, weakness, and many other problems. But since I started making this schedule at home, everyone knows when my period is.”
She hopes that her openness about this will make others – especially men – more understanding of her situation and empathetic about her menstrual needs.
photo released, Getty Images
Some women are required to isolate themselves in private places during their menstrual periods and to use separate eating utensils in some parts of South Asia
emotional support
Alima, a school teacher and another participant in this project or initiative, says that after deciding to disclose her menstrual cycles to all seven members of her family, she receives more emotional support and assistance than before.
“I am well aware of the problems that working women face during menstruation. By being open about this, we are receiving more support at home. It is a very good experience,” Alima told the BBC.
Alima is also from the city of Meerut, which has a population of about two million, and some 70 married or single women from the city have joined the initiative.
“Selfie with my daughter” campaign
The question that arises is how did the openness about the menstrual cycle begin in a conservative and usually closed society?
The person behind the promotion and drive of the Women’s Period Reveal Initiative is Sunil Jaglan, director of the NGO Selfie With My Daughter, which empowers and liberates rural women.
Jaglan founded the organization in 2012, and he says the idea came to him in response to the position of the nurse who helped his wife when their daughter was born. He wanted to tip the nurse, but she refused, saying the tip was only accepted upon the birth of a male child.
The menstrual cycle awareness campaign started in Meerut in December 2021 by distributing posters in the city.
“I’ve always thought about the problems women face during menstruation,” Jaglan says. “I’ve seen many women in our family having problems for this reason.”
“I always thought I should do something about it. After talking to doctors, I launched this campaign.”
photo released, Sunil Jaglan
Some girls their families refused to let them schedule their periods
Timetables first appeared in some villages in Noah and Jind districts of Haryana.
Since then, the campaign has spread to seven Indian states, with nearly 1,000 women participating.
‘Inappropriate comments’
Campaign volunteers used a variety of methods, from phones to social media and home site visits, to encourage more women to open up about their periods.
Sometimes success was their ally, while at other times they faced strong resistance.
“There have been some people who have made inappropriate comments about women – even their daughters,” Jaglan says. “In many places, these charts have been torn up, or even girls are not allowed to comment.”
Meerut, like many other places in northern India, is a socially conservative city, and it is difficult for women to prove their presence and value at home.
This is why campaigners seek to reach out to religious leaders and get their support to moderate the opposition.
photo released, Shahbaz Anwar
Alia got support from her husband about scheduling her period at home
The pressures of a large extended family
One of the reasons that hindered the progress of the campaign and slowed its spread is the social structure in those areas of India where large families live together in one house.
Alia, a housewife living in a large extended family, presents her with additional challenges.
“In addition to my husband, of course, and his father and brother, there are many other male relatives who visit the house regularly, so when I first learned about the period schedule campaign, I immediately thought that it would not be possible in our home,” says Alia.
But her husband supported the idea of the campaign, and also sought to involve his mother in it. And now Alia receives more support from other family members during her periods.
Poverty and menstruation
Manisha, another participant in the Timelines Project, feels that the campaign has allowed her to talk about her period with male family members without any hesitation or hesitation.
“This is related to our health,” she says. “Everyone in the family should be aware of our problems during menstruation.”
“Women often become irritable and argumentative during menstruation. By knowing these hidden health problems, people are more understanding and empathetic.”
photo released, Getty Images
A survey conducted by the Indian government reported that 40 percent of young Indian women use unsanitary methods of protection during their menstrual cycle
An Indian government survey published in 2019 showed that most Indian girls and women still use unhygienic methods of protection during their period, such as cutting old clothes. Many of them are too poor to buy sanitary pads.
In recent years, cheap, locally made sanitary pads have provided some relief for those who are under-resourced or impoverished.
But the taboo associated with menstruation, and the ban on talking about it, still prevents women from going to stores and buying menstrual hygiene products.
‘No shame in it’
For years, Elvishan’s mother bought her sanitary pads and hid them in a black plastic bag.
“I used to be ashamed to buy sanitary pads from the store owner, but now I can go and buy them myself. There is absolutely no shame in that,” says the young woman.
The number of participations in the campaign is still too low for any tangible social change to occur. But what gives Jaglan hope are the men who were convinced by the campaign, who became its new supporters like Zubair Ahmed.
This barber has become encouraging his wife to set the schedule. He told her she could hang it on any door she chose in their house.
Today, Zubair has a message of support for both men and women.
“Women should not be stressed during menstruation,” he says. “A woman should not care what anyone else might think while she suffers in silence.”