Strength TogetHER 15 - Session 3

 On

July 17, 2021

‘MENSTRUATION ISN’T DIRTY! IT’S NORMAL AND NATURAL!!!’

Facilitated by ‘Lokopakar’, a youth development organization which provides youth variety of programs, ‘Strength TogetHER’ girls-only, peer-to-peer self-development group was created to discuss unique points of view, thoughts, insights, experiences and stories. This virtual area allows girls of different mindsets and backgrounds to grow as individuals by giving them a place to just be themselves, talk about their problems and find solutions.

After the success of our second session on June 19th, we convened our third session via Zoom on July 17th with all the excitement, enthusiasm, and nervousness that comes with it. The talk, titled “MY FIRST PERIOD STORY”, started at 2 P.M and ended around 3:30 P.M.

It was a highly effective session, with approximately 20+ attendees and four speakers. We felt safe and secure under the direction of Miss Samriddhi Khanal, who is currently working as a School Health Nurse under the Ministry of Social Development-Bagmati Province. She is passionate about creating awareness on public health issues and adopting a healthy lifestyle for better health outcomes. 

We began our meeting with a warm greeting and bright smile. Without any further ado, we started calling the speakers to ask them to share  stories of their first period.

• Our first speaker had her first period during Dashain, when all of their family gathered in their homes for all of the festivities and music. She admitted that she had a misconception regarding periods, believing that period causes flows so heavy but this was not the case. Since it was not like that during her first period, she assumed that she had a wound, but when her parents were alerted, assured her it was only her period. She began to cry when she realized it was her period, and now she wonders why she cried at that time.

• Our second speaker began her story by describing her joy of going to a new school and meeting new people. She had her first period on her first day of school, when she was kept in a guest room, where she was not permitted to see her brothers. It was all about culture but she didn’t accept it and she secretly talked to her brothers. 3 or 4 days later, she was worried when she heard her grandmother mention that if a girl on her period doesn’t follow certain cultures, something awful will happen to her, and then she followed it because she was afraid that something horrible would happen to her.

• Our third speaker reminisced about how excited she was when she used to hear her friend’s period stories. On the morning of her unit test, she had her periods. She was afraid to tell her parents because she feared that they would refuse to let her go to school, but she didn’t want to miss her test. Throughout the test, she had tears in her eyes. She was embarrassed at first, but once she informed her friends about all the emotions that were running through her mind and they assured that it was normal, she felt better.

• In her exam, our fourth speaker had her first period, and that was the end of her grade 6. She recalls the time as being 10 P.M., and she was with her father and brother. When she realized she was on her period, her father gave her a pad, but she had no idea how to use it. She just managed to put it in, and the next morning, all of the blood was in her bed sheet since she hadn’t put it in the proper way the night before.

Our moderator also shared her experiences to help us clarify our opinions. She told about her first period, which occurred when she was in class nine. When she had her first period, it was in the morning. She told her mother in hushed tones. She shared about her culture which forbade her from seeing the sun, as well as her brothers. She also asked us to share what our culture tells us to do or not during this time.

Everyone expressed what their culture had to say, and some of them are:

• One of our participants talked about the culture she comes from, which is Achham. She explained how chhaupadi is still in practice in her district where young girls are confined to mud huts or sheds for the duration of their menstrual cycle or even longer. It is believed that if they do not, they will bring bad luck or illness to their family.

• Our next participant related that in her family women used to bury their menstrual clothes to keep them from being exploited by evil spirits.

• Women are judged impure during their periods, according to our third participant, and are obliged to refrain from participating in normal daily activities.

• According to the fourth participant, women are not allowed to enter the kitchen or touch anything, including pickles, during their period.

With these hearings, our moderator noted that every culture has a tale to tell, dating back to ancient times. For example, in the past, temples were located at the top of a very steep hill, and due to period pain, people used to advise don’t go, and now it is considered taboo for women to attend temples during their periods.

After sharing our period experiences and stories with our moderator, we discussed what we might do to ensure that our future generations do not face the same problems.

• We should teach our young generation how to use sanitary pads so that they do not have the same troubles as ours throughout their periods.

• We should teach what a period is and what part it plays in our daily lives so that they don’t feel embarrassed about it.

• We should help our juniors understand that talking about period is not unclean or strange,“ Periods aren’t filthy or weird to talk about!!!”

‘Menstruation is normal, and a boon signifying power and courage in disguise!’

This session gave a fantastic opportunity for all of us to learn and unlearn new concepts, as well as a lively and proud conversation. We were all ecstatic to be a part of such a wonderful family with such inspiring girls!!!

We took a picture at the end of an hour-long session to commemorate our time together. With a smile on our faces, we finished our session. It was a great session. I’m looking forward to hearing more!!!

This blog is written by Dipa Yadav, the proud coordinator of Cohort 15, an eager learner who appreciates sharing her experiences and believes in the concept of ‘Strength in TogetHERness’.

Written by- Dipa Yadav (Cohort Coordinator)