Menstrual hygiene awareness: How it is related to period positivity

Period positivity aims to normalise periods, menstrual health, and rights by overcoming the stigma and guilt associated with menstruation. It seeks to promote open communication about periods and increase knowledge about menstrual hygiene and health problems.

You can become more conscious of physical changes before, during, or during your period by adopting a period-positive attitude. Menstruators also grow considerably more suited and prepared for normal body changes.

Period positivity: What is it?

Accepting that menstruation is not a taboo subject is what it means to be period positive. It is not a derogatory term; rather, it describes who we are as people. For so long, society has conditioned us to avoid discussing periods, stigmatising them as a personal experience that, in reality, only causes embarrassment and pain at the mere utterance of the term “period.”

Purchasing period products like tampons and pads contributed to the cycle of shame since the stores would wrap them in a newspaper or they were hastily tucked away in purses, out of the view of curious bystanders.

What is Menstrual hygiene and how does it tie to period positivity?

The well-being and empowerment of women and teenage girls depend on menstrual health and hygiene (MHH). Girls and women need access to WASH facilities, inexpensive and suitable menstrual hygiene products, education on good practices, and a welcoming atmosphere where they may manage their period without embarrassment or stigma in order to manage it properly.

Menstruating girls and women encounter difficulties that go beyond a simple dearth of resources or infrastructure. While most women and girls see menstruation as a natural and healthy phase of life, in many communities, menstruators’ experiences are nevertheless limited by social stigmas and discriminatory cultural taboos.

Lack of knowledge about menstruation as a result breeds misunderstandings and harmful attitudes that encourage, among other things, bullying, humiliation, and even gender-based violence. It also results in unclean and hazardous menstrual habits. Poor menstrual health and hygiene are worsening social and economic inequality for generations of girls and women, having a detrimental effect on their education, health, safety, and human development.

Conclusion

Menstrual hygiene is now being discussed more frequently in our everyday lives. Our future generations and young girls who have just begun menstruating or are on the verge of starting are the ones who need education the most.

We can achieve this through raising awareness and dispelling taboos that have grown in our poisonous society, such as the notion that females shouldn’t dance, work out, or go to school. These misconceptions are still quite common in urban slums, semi-urban areas, and rural communities.

The author is a Consultant Obstetrician, Gynecologist at Motherhood Hospitals in Kharadi

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