Pads alone cannot solve the problem when silence, stigma and patriarchal attitudes continue to shape how Indian women experience menstruation.
Every month, millions of Indian women and girls quietly adjust their lives around periods. Some skip school. Some avoid temples and kitchens. Some carry sanitary pads hidden inside bags or newspapers. Others continue working through unbearable pain without speaking about it openly. Even today, in many Indian households, menstruation is discussed in whispers, if discussed at all.
On Menstrual Hygiene Day, conversations often focus on access to sanitary pads, toilets, and hygiene products. While these remain critical concerns, activists and health experts argue that menstrual hygiene is not just about cleanliness. It is also about dignity, education, mental wellbeing, and the social attitudes attached to menstruation.
Because in India, periods are still widely treated as a “women’s issue” rather than a shared social conversation.
Menstrual Hygiene Is Also About Mental And Social Health
India has made progress in menstrual awareness campaigns over the past decade. Government schemes, school programmes, and grassroots organisations have improved access to sanitary products in several regions.
Yet stigma remains deeply embedded.
Girls are often taught from childhood to hide menstruation from men and boys. Words like “period” are replaced with euphemisms such as “those days” or “problem.” Many women still hesitate to buy sanitary pads openly from shops due to fear of judgement.
Health experts say this silence affects how girls understand their own bodies.
A study exploring boys’ perceptions of menstruation in India found that boys were rarely included in menstrual education sessions, reinforcing the idea that periods are shameful or secretive. Researchers noted that misinformation and teasing often thrive when menstruation is excluded from normal conversation.
For girls, the emotional burden begins early.
Many recall being told not to enter kitchens, touch religious objects, or participate in celebrations while menstruating. In some communities, girls are isolated during their periods or made to feel “impure.”
Experts say such practices impact confidence and self-esteem as much as physical hygiene.
Why Schools Remain A Critical Battleground
One of the biggest challenges around menstrual hygiene in India remains school absenteeism.
Several studies have shown that girls miss classes during periods due to lack of clean toilets, fear of staining, menstrual pain, and social embarrassment.
Common reasons girls skip school during menstruation:
- Lack of private toilets and disposal facilities
- Fear of leakage or public humiliation
- Inadequate menstrual education
- Pain management issues
- Social stigma and teasing
- Lack of access to affordable menstrual products
Ground reports from rural India have repeatedly shown that many adolescent girls enter puberty without understanding menstruation beforehand. Some mistake bleeding for illness during their first period because nobody explained it to them.
Experts argue that menstrual education must include boys as well.
“When boys are excluded from these discussions, stigma only deepens,” several educators and activists have pointed out in recent awareness campaigns.
The Workplace Silence Around Periods
The taboo around menstruation does not disappear with adulthood.
In workplaces, many women continue to hide period pain due to fear of appearing weak or “less professional.” Discussions around menstrual leave policies have exposed how uncomfortable many institutions still are when addressing women’s reproductive health openly.
Women across sectors from corporate employees to daily wage workers, often continue working without adequate support, sanitation facilities, or flexibility during menstruation.
In extreme cases, reports involving women labourers in parts of Maharashtra highlighted how poor reproductive healthcare and pressure to avoid missing work created serious long-term health consequences.
Activists say these examples reveal a larger issue: menstruation is still treated as something women must quietly “manage” rather than a legitimate public health concern.
Beyond Pads: Changing The Conversation
On Menstrual Hygiene Day, experts say India must move beyond symbolic awareness campaigns and product distribution drives.
Access to pads matters. Clean toilets matter. Affordable healthcare matters.
But changing social attitudes matters equally.
What needs to change:
- Comprehensive menstrual education for both girls and boys
- Open conversations in homes and schools
- Better sanitation infrastructure
- Workplace policies supporting menstrual health
- Ending discriminatory cultural practices
- Treating menstruation as a health issue, not a source of shame
Across social media and feminist movements, younger Indians are increasingly challenging menstrual taboos. Campaigns promoting body literacy, period positivity, and inclusive health education are slowly changing conversations in urban spaces.
But experts warn that real change will happen only when menstruation stops being treated as a hidden “women’s problem.”
Because menstrual hygiene is not only about managing blood.
It is also about ensuring that no girl grows up believing her body is something to be ashamed of.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Logical Take, a commentary section of The Logical Indian. The views expressed are based on research, constitutional values, and the author’s analysis of publicly reported events. They are intended to encourage informed public discourse and do not seek to target or malign any community, institution, or individual.
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