If sanitation is a taboo topic in India, menstruation and menstrual hygiene is a worse matter to discuss. From using blue water in advertisements, to using all kinds of metaphors, this has never been easy since ages, as all of it has been handed from generation to generation. Furthermore, women due to the associated stigma, are always isolated during their periods -- not allowed to enter the prayer rooms, kitchens, and not allowed to touch anyone. In the rural areas, this is particularly bad.
This leads to diseases and creates adverse situations for reproductive health, and maternal mortality. Often in some cases, in young girls, it leads to early marriages, eventual pregnancies and childbirth -- the impact of it just snowballs. If you think about it, it is a gross violation of human rights.This story of India's menstrual man, Arunachalam Muruganathanam, the topic of a documentary by Amit Virmani is very heartening and heartbreaking, as he wen't through immense trouble and was treated as a pervert. His perseverance is something to be envied, as he managed to create low cost sanitary napkins.Overall, the menstruation topic all boils down to sanitation and hygiene, and it is important to educate both boys and girls about it. Even the boys need to learn not to giggle about it. Which brings me to the clean toilets and water supplies in schools and at homes. In schools, it's absolutely crucial to have separate toilets for boys and girls with clean water to allow them to handle what is a biological phenomenon with dignity. As the above video vouches, many girls quit school because they're too 'ashamed' of what they're going through.We’ll get there.
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