A well-written, very informative, and much-needed post it is. Many thanks to the CC team. 
Even today, in some parts of India, menarche is celebrated as a successful first step to womanhood!
However, despite the loud celebration of this as a milestone, behind-the-scenes menstruation invites shame and seclusion from everyday routine for them!
Following menarche, the majority of young women received some form of information, but they still had knowledge gaps regarding this.
“I know what it is but I didn’t know why and how it happens.” --- We heard such words from many of our friends in school days. Most young girls were unaware of menstruation before menarche and continued to have minimal knowledge once it occurred.
Still, there are widespread taboos, stigma, and misconceptions towards menstruation in rural societies, because of religious beliefs and societal norms. There is an urgent need to dismantle such social constructs.
Many members already expressed their views regarding --the stigma surrounding menstruation in society and the lack of menstrual etiquette.
The pressure to maintain a discreet profile during menses is one of several factors that contributes to inadequate menstrual hygiene management (MHM) unfortunately.
(MHM; defined by WHO and UNICEF as a practice of using clean absorbents, having the privacy of changing absorbent materials regularly, and having access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and disposal services).
Young girls from rural areas are sent into isolation in a shed or hut on the borders of their community when they start menstruation. Rural and tribal communities in the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, and Orissa frequently engage in this practice. Women are subjected to discriminatory customs that cause them to feel humiliation, loneliness, anxiety, and peril.
In many parts, menstruating women are prohibited from entering places of worship, or kitchens, or from touching food items, infants, and elders. Such restrictive practices stem from the religious belief that women are unclean or “impure” during their menstruation. In some communities, people even believe that a menstruating woman’s body emits rays that can contaminate objects if she touches them. A common myth based on this belief argues that if a woman on her period touches a pickle jar, the pickles will rot sooner, or if she touches a cow, the animal will become infertile. Husbands also refrain from touching their wives or daughters during their menstrual period as it would make them “ritually impure.”
Educational interventions should be provided early, before menarche, and should engage older female relatives, mothers, and teachers in the process of destigmatising menstruation. Normalising menstruation and menstrual management are important first steps to secure policies and resources that support health and the human rights of menstruating individuals. These policies and resources should include material provisions at the school to ensure that bathrooms have adequate privacy and disposal facilities.
It is always better to consult your doctor if ---
- You haven't had a period by the age of 16.
- You don't get your period for three months or longer.
- You're suddenly bleeding for more days than usual.
- You're bleeding much lighter or much heavier than usual.
- You have severe pain during your period.
- You have bleeding between periods.
Other signs you will get during your period which is considered normal are--- Mood changes and trouble sleeping, headache, food cravings, bloating, breast tenderness, etc.
A healthy diet, regular daily exercise, and reducing stress may help improve your quality of life and significantly reduce the severity of PMS symptoms, including reducing moodiness and painful periods.
Let us help the needy, as Rituparna did, but there is much more to do, from individuals, society and from Government as well.
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