It’s interesting that so much embarrassment, awkwardness, and shame surround a natural bodily function experienced by half the population at some point in their lives. We don’t hide toilet paper away, yet some women still get flustered if a tampon drops out of their handbag, or we might buy a floral-patterned tin to hide our sanitary pads. If you spotted some toilet roll tucked away and covered in a little bespoke baggy in someone’s loo, wouldn’t you find it faintly ridiculous? And yet that’s what we do all the time with sanitary products, as though the evidence that we have periods is something to be ashamed of. The most recent example of prejudice towards periods is that: higher rate of tax has been put on sanitary products because they are considered luxuries (women have the option to use reusable cups, which aren’t taxed) but men’s disposable razors are not taxed even though they are also a luxury and also add to landfill. To date sanitary napkin is considered a luxury cosmetic item in Bangladesh and most countries in the world. High custom duty, as well as the monopoly of some businessmen, transformed our ESSENTIAL NEED into a luxurious cosmetic item. Women all over the world have to pay a big price for the higher prices of sanitary napkins. Most of them can’t afford them. Statistics show that; unfortunately,41% of the schoolgirls in Bangladesh do not attend classes during their periods, and 73% of women miss their work for an average of 6 days a month for infection (reproductive and urinary tract infection) caused by unhygienic menstrual management. In her feminist novel How to be a Woman, Caitlin Moran writes that periods are viewed as something disgusting simply because they belong to women.
“[We live] in a culture where nearly everything female is still seen as scream-inducing, and/or weak – menstruation, menopause…”
But period prejudice goes way back. What began as a marginal human rights issue has since broadened, transforming into a global movement demanding more openness about menstruation. At its heart is a simple question: “Why does mention of a woman’s period bother so many quite so much? Why can’t we be honest about something this mundane?”This culture of shame and embarrassment, though, may now be lifting. After thousands of years of being thickly lacquered in euphemism, we’re finally becoming free to talk about periods. The ancient menstrual taboo is being powerfully challenged by women all across the world.
Article by-Samia Tahsin Hoque
Campus Ambassador, WSIF.
