Image Credit: Goonj
Bihar
Bihar: Breaking The Fear And Anxiety In Women Related To Periods
|Goonj uses its cloth pads as a nudge to get women like Mala to look at their menstruation as a normal issue connected to their health and wellbeing.
The story of Mala Devi of Narthua, Alamnagar, Bihar, is a glimpse into the fear millions of women experience when they first start to menstruate.
At the age of 17, when she got her first period, she thought it was a leech feeding inside her causing her to bleed and her anxiety knew no bounds. She rushed to her mother, to share this crisis, only to receive callous laughter from her friend who witnessed her ordeal. A bath and a piece of tattered cloth were all that was offered to her. Mala Devi is married now and shared her story at a recent Goonj 'Break the Silence Meeting'. Goonj's initiative 'Not Just a Piece of Cloth' (NJPC) is about changing this indignity that women face.
When Mala Devi attended a Chuppi Todo Baithak (Break the Silence Session) organized by Goonj, creating a safe space for dialogue on this taboo issue and mobilizing her to take action, she not only received a pack of cloth pads (MY Pads) but also got a chance to voice her questions and issue and receive information.
Goonj uses its cloth pads as a nudge to get women like Mala to look at their menstruation as a normal issue connected to their health and wellbeing. We need more men and women to make menstruation a human issue.
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