If you are active on social media, you must have come across a lot of pictures of women with red dot on their hand. Those who don't know about it, let us tell you that women, a lot of our favourite Bollywood celebrities took the red dot challenge to make people aware about menstruation. This initiative was started a couple of days before the International Menstrual Hygiene Day by UNICEF.
This challenge was started to bust myths around periods, promote menstrual hygiene, and inspiring everyone to come forward and talk about periods.
From Neha Dhupia to Manushi Chillar, celebrities sent across a special message.
“It’s about time we put a ‘period’ to period shaming…there’s no shame in it,” Diana Penty wrote.
Manushi Chillar too took the red dot challenge and wrote, "Every young girl has the right to accurate information about her body. Without the right information, girls often don’t know how to safely manage their period. It’s time to break the silence. I am calling all girls, boys, women and men to take the #RedDotChallenge with me. Because Menstruation Matters."
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Neha Dhupia took the challenge to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene. She wrote, PERiOD: Only 12% of women & girls have access to sanitary menstrual hygiene in India with a majority of them relying on outdated, unhygienic methods during menstruation. @stc_india @UNICEFIndia #ItsTimeForAction #Reddotchallenge #MHDay2020 #PeriodsInPandemics ... It doesn't stop for pandemic. While we are tucked away in our homes, there are millions of girls who may not be able to access menstrual hygiene. #ItsTimeForAction so we don't miss menstrual hygiene in the myriad. 🔴
PERIOD. . .Is what made Shalini travel from a village in Nuapada in Odisha to Women Deliver event in Canada. She is a champion who uses poetry to spread awareness on menstruation in her community. Swipe left ... and Check out her poetry & celebrate her spirit . 🔴."
Putting An End To Period Shaming
Many of us grew up in an environment where we were asked to follow a set of restrictions during our periods. Back then, it was a culture of shame, we couldn't openly talk about it and many of us assumed that it was our dirty little secret. All these years we thought there something shameful about menstruation. However, with time we realised it is all-natural. Its been a few years that women have started to debate on periods. Till date, there are areas across our country where menstruating young girls and women are still shamed and expected to follow a certain set of restrictions. Menstruating women are still considered impure, banned from entering the kitchen or temple.
Why It Needs To Stop
Why are young girls or women asked to keep mum when it comes to their periods? Why can't they openly talk about it? Many of us have been brought up this way, we were asked to not speak about menstruation in front of others. Till the time we start freely talk about it with people, girls and women won't really start to believe that it is completely natural and there is nothing wrong about it.
Periods have been a taboo for years now and it is high time we start to understand that it is all-natural and period shaming is not okay!
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Menstruation Is Important
It is a natural phenomenon and it is a sign that a woman is healthy. Not getting periods or having irregular periods means that a woman isn't healthy. It is a sign of feminity and fertility too. What's funny here is that everyone knows about it but no one wants to talk about it because many feel its disgusting. But let's face it, it is our body and getting periods is as normal as sneezing or farting. I feel men around us can make it all normal by talking about periods, it is okay to discuss menstrual cramps or pain. There should be absolutely no awkwardness about it.
Where To Start?
To bring change, you need to start from your homes, mothers should teach their sons about it, fathers should talk to their daughters about it. No longer should any parent switch the channel when there is a sanitary pad commercial on television. Also, if a discussion around periods happens around you, you need to make everyone in your family learn that there is nothing disgusting about it. Having an open conversation about periods with your family or friends will help for real.
There is nothing shameful about periods and its time to put on an end to this shaming. What's your take on period shaming? Share your thoughts with us!
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