When men are oppressed it’s a tragedy,
When women are oppressed it’s a tradition…

-Letty Cottin Pogrebin

And thus, I begin a new chapter on my blog, this one which I will hopefully finish, but first of all, happy international women’s day, here is to breaking the bias between both genders (which is the theme for this year too so pun intended)!

Orsa means beginning or start in Latin and yeah here is my step towards equality for both genders, feminism and breaking stereotypes and taboos. I have back to back posts planned out for the next few days, this one is a poem I wrote on menstruation which is seriously a topic that the society should stop treating like it’s horrible, it’s normal people get over it, and then I have some facts on it on how hard it is :)…….
Here we go……

A drop she sheds,
And many more so,
Life she gives,
But her pain you don’t know.

You sneer upon her agony,
You call her pain disgusting,
When in reality it’s a beauty,
Even though her anger might sometimes be disrupting.

She hides it from you,
So you feel comfortable,
Only tells a few,
Even when she herself is uncomfortable,

Stop the discrimination,
And the seclusion,
It’s because your lack of education,
Why the segregation because of menstruation?

It’s not harmful,
Neither is it infectious,
Periods are a part of life,
And create many more.

“Menstrual blood is the only blood that isn’t born from violence but is the one that disgusts society the most.” Periods, menstruation, that time of the month, menorrhea, Aunt Flo, the monthlies or the curse. A blessing for many deemed a curse. Something so beautiful which disrelishes many. 

Menstruation is defined as the process in which a person discharges blood and other material from the lining of the uterus at intervals of about one lunar month from puberty until menopause, except during pregnancy. It’s not only women who menstruate but many men too. 

The society scorns those who openly speak about it. It is considered shameful to talk about it, and; a woman menstruating is considered infertile. Numerous taboos are revolving around periods. Females from a young age are taught to keep a poker face about periods. To conceal it and never to talk about it in front of men. Men across the ages have believed that the monthly cycle is a curse bestowed upon women and it should be kept in the cupboard for it is something which is repelling and to be ashamed of.

Women across the world face different stereotypes and taboos while in their menstrual cycle. As people are getting more educated and are opening their minds, numerous taboos have started to be broken but those coming from a lowly uneducated background are still taught to be wary of periods. Even some literate men coming are disgusted by the idea of periods because of their close-mindedness.
In India, 3 out of 5 women are not allowed to sit on sofas during periods, 7 out of 10 females are asked to stay out of the kitchen while on their periods. Many people are of the misconception that if a menstruating person touches a plant the plant dies, but as the UN beautifully puts it, plants don’t discriminate like humans. Such taboos need to end. Periods are normal and must be openly talked about. A female should feel comfortable talking about it with men and women alike, it’s normal and it’s life. 

As per recent studies, on average, menstruation starts around the age of 12 and ends around the age of 52. That is about 40 years of menstrual periods. Most women have their period cycle around 28 days, one lunar cycle, which is approximately one month. 40 years and 12 periods per year i.e. 40×12 months = 480 periods. The average length of periods is about 3-5 days which is 1440-2400 days of bleeding. That’s 4-6.5 years of bleeding. Women bleed for 4-6.5 years only to be called the weaker gender. Period pain is said to be almost as painful as heart attack pain, yet women are still looked down upon when they are in their flowering time. To face differentiation for the pain they go through in the journey of life, for the journey of life. 

Periods aren’t infectious, neither are they repulsing, they are part of a beautiful and wonderful phase of life. Women shed blood, but unlike men, they shed the blood of life not of warfare and killing. We as humans need to put an end to the taboos surrounding menstruation, we need to start talking openly about it and normalising it. It’s time we brought a change in this world for the better, brought a change for those whose change brings us life.

This one was a bit different than my old posts but the next few ones are like this…
Hope you give them a read 🙂
Here’s to the many strong women who’ve made this world a better place for all the other girls by showing that change can be brought……