“i bleed every month. but i do not die. how am i not magic.”

nayyirah waheed

I am what they call a “late bloomer,” so after feeling some cramping during my tenth grade math class, I rushed to the girls bathroom and I was filled with inexplicable joy to see small patches of reddish brown blood on my panties. I could not wait to tell all my friends so I could finally be added to the list of girls that had their period.

I attribute the pleasantness of menarche (the first menstrual bleed) to the consistent conversations with my mother and menstrual management sessions we had at school. I always had a small bag with a clean pair of underwear and a couple of sanitary pads. I knew how to place a sanitary pad onto my underwear correctly. I knew I had to change it after a couple of hours. I knew how I should dispose a pad. I knew I had to note the day my period started in order to calculate when it should happen next. I knew I should count how many days my period lasts. I knew I was going to be menstruating until I got much older so I was supposed to get familiar with my body. What I did not know at the time was how incredibly privileged my experience had been. 

Globally, there are cultural and socioeconomic factors that are deeply embedded in society that have damaged this experience for people who menstruate.

Culturally, we are silent about menstruation. It is considered a private matter. Speaking about menstruation is difficult, I mean for crying out loud, even in mainstream culture, menstrual blood is still being represented by blue liquid. All this quietness around menstruation has caused there to be a lack of information for people who menstruate and other members of society. Misinformation about menstruation has been reinforced by myths and taboos from older generations. Subsequently, misconceptions about menstruation has resulted in discrimination and stigma.

For example, in Afghanistan, girls are taught that menstruating is shameful and dirty. In some Afghani homes, menstruators are ignored through the duration of their period. They are not allowed to eat meat, vegetables, rice, and sour foods. They are not allowed to drink cold water, sit on wet ground, or do any form of washing. In Ethiopia, menarche either means you have engaged in penetrative sex or you have been raped, which are each punishable acts for a single woman. In rural areas of Nepal, the ancient tradition of Chhaupadi is still practiced. Women and girls are banished into mud huts or sheds for the duration of their period because it is believed that they will bring bad luck or ill health to their families when they are menstruating. While there the women and girls have no basic supplies, no menstrual products, and no washing facilities. There have been reports of women and girls dying in these small huts due to suffocation, pneumonia, small animal attacks, and fire.

Socioeconomically, a lack of resources has negatively impacted the hygiene and mental health of menstruators. In rural areas around the world, there is limited or no access to menstruation products. This has caused menstruating people to use materials such as, cow dung, chicken feathers, socks, bedding, or toilet paper as absorbents. In parts of the world where menstruation materials are available, menstruators are unable to access the products due to financial constraints — this is known as period poverty. Menstruation products have been considered luxury items. Consequently, mainly pads and tampons have been heavily taxed making them unaffordable for millions.

In addition, 2.3 billion people around the world do not have basic sanitation services. Moreover, in countries that are considered the “least developed,” only 27 percent of the population have a washing facility with water and soap at home. This basic lack of water and sanitation has greatly hindered the management of menstrual health. Consequently, school children that menstruate are often absent during their period due to the lack of functioning sanitation facilities, if any at all.

The global experience of people with anatomy that is considered female, is one of discrimination and inequality. The truth is that menstruation is a normal biological process yet biomedicine itself has played a role in ostracizing menstruating people. In 1987, sociocultural anthropologist, Emily Martin argued how medically, menstruating is an indicator that the body is in its reproductive phase. However, when one is on their period it means “they are not reproducing, not continuing the species, not preparing to stay at home with the baby, not providing a safe, warm womb to nurture a man’s sperm.” These connotations are essentially negative because it causes menstruating to signify a “failure to reproduce.” Subsequently, menstrual flow then carries “the idea of production gone awry, and making products of no use.”

Various physiology texts observe processes in the body that are fundamentally analogous to menstruation in that they involve the shedding of a lining. Martin notes that the language used to describe menstruation in these texts use words like “breakdown, decay, needing repair, degenerating, weakening, deteriorating, shedding, sloughing, or replacement.” On the other hand, the lining of the stomach undergoing similar process in order to not be digested by the hydrochloric acid produced in digestion, and male ejaculation which involves the shedding of cellular material, are described as processes of “renewal, replenishment, and continual production.”

Martin argues that the purpose of the menstrual cycle should not be reproduction because it is this approach that has caused negative connotations towards menstruation and menopause. Furthermore, it is this approach that has contributed to the oppressive dynamics that menstruators experience socially. “I can see no reason why menstrual blood itself could not be seen as the desired ‘product’ of the female cycle, except when the woman intends to become pregnant.” She instead suggests that menstrual flow itself is a purposeful part of menstruation. It reinforces the magnificent design of a reproductive uterus. Fundamentally deeming menstrual blood as a desirable part of the cycle rearranges how human body’s with female anatomy are approached medically and socially. Martin’s thoughts are major steps towards rectifying how menstruation is socioculturally viewed.

In 2015, Terese Lann Welin also recognized the need for menstruators to reconcile their relationship with menstruation. It was the disparity of period poverty that deeply struck a nerve within her. This injustice conjured many internal feelings that she had not interrogated until then. She realized that the shame and stigma about menstruation was hindering processes of reform. She also realized that she had been carrying her own shame about menstruation. She decided that she wanted to be part of the change and not long after, she started her global platform, My Period is Awesome (MPIA). The platform aims to elevate projects that promote menstrual health, and sexual and reproductive rights. The business of bleeding is part of Lann Welin’s bloodline. Her mother, Cara Lann, has been working on gender projects since the early nineties. So with her mother’s connections and social media, the reach has been phenomenal. Currently, MPIA is running projects in partnership with organizations in Namibia, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, and Sweden.

The Namibian civil society organisation Women’s Action for Development (WAD), in partnership with MPIA, decided to take steps towards a #taxfreepriodnam. The social media ran campaign took place during the last three months of 2020. WAD furthered their efforts in advocating for tax-free sanitary pads by starting an online petition. Through WAD’s consistent and revealing campaign work about period poverty, the Namibian government decided to exempt sanitary products of Value Added Tax in March 2021.

WAD achieved their major sociopolitical and socioeconomic goals but they are still busy with sociocultural goals that involve educating school children about menstrual health management and sexual reproductive health rights. The project, currently being run in partnership with MPIA, is focused on rural communities in the Northern regions of Namibia. Here, programs are being conducted with the aim of creating a safe space where menstruation can be discussed comfortably. 

MPIA designs educational programs that are inspired by menstruation and the inequalities connected to it, in partnership with activists and organizations around the world. These programs go beyond the biological aspects of menstruation and sexual reproductive health. MPIA believes in a holistic approach that involves processes of teaching and learning about cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexual reproductive health rights. The aim of the educational programs is to find effective ways to promote long term health for young people by equipping them with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that empower them to gain better health, well-being, and dignity. A fundamental part of the MPIA programs is to not reduce menstruation to just menstrual blood, even though that is an important aspect. The goal is to completely wash away menstrual shame and demystify secrecy and taboo around menstruation.

Another vital part of the MPIA approach is the integration of menstruation as a central part in comprehensive sexuality education. With the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, the training topics of the programs are designed. It is crucial for all genders to be educated about menstruation, this is how stripping shame and stigma starts. The programs are dedicated to providing education that dismantles discriminatory practices, attitudes and beliefs surrounding menstruation for womxn, men, and non binary people.

The partnership that MPIA has with Sonke Gender Justice in South Africa sees the realization of well informed perspectives and priorities through the programs that work to advance the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual communities, people living with HIV and AIDS, and refugees and migrants. Women, sexual minorities, young people, refugees, migrants and other relevant stakeholders are represented in Sonke’s governance structures.

In Rwanda, the prominent issue affecting menstruating people is unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. Through MPIA’s partnership with local social enterprise, Dukataze, women are being empowered to mentally, socially, and economically prevent unintended pregnancies. Furthermore, members of the communities are taught about reproductive health through outreach programs. 

The Wellbeing Foundation in Uganda, and Wise Ecomomy in Sweden, initiated MPIA’s campaign for Menstrual Health Day that had global success. The campaign, No Period Shame, aims to highlight period poverty, and menstrual shame, stigma, and taboo, in order to conjure conversations that will lead to the undoing of this sociocultural problem. Conceptualized by Shyaka Lwangyaaga Farid, founder of Wellbeing Foundation, participating in the campaign is simple: first, take a photo with both hands in front of their body in a shape that visualizes a uterus. Then post your photo on your social media pages with the hashtag #NoPeriodShame and tag the campaign’s account. The campaign launched last year and saw posts for famous profiles, NGOs, embassies, activists, and civilians from 5 continents and 17 countries. In total, 260 pictures were sent to MPIA and 614 thousand people were reached on Facebook.

 MPIA’s development work has gone beyond the border of its conception and made steps towards changing how people experience and react towards menstruation. Even from their online platform, MPIA has been able to educate and inspire. The platform has a growing catalogue of introductory articles about menstruation, which they have called a Mensyclopedia. These articles are comprehensive guides about how the uterus functions, dysfunctions, and how to manage menstrual health. The menscyclopedia also tackles topics like sex, sexuality, and sexual consent, pain during sexual intercourse, visits to the gynecologist, child birth, dysmenorrhea, irregular periods, menstrual blood and finding an appropriate menstrual product for oneself. Furthermore, the website acts as a platform for menstruation and sexual reproductive health rights activists that MPIA connected with through the #NoPeriodShame campaign. The series of articles called #MPIA4activists walk through various developmental work taking place in Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

I have been left awe inspired by the work of Terese Lann Welin and all who have come together to make changes with life long effects for menstruators and all members of society. The truth is blood has always been culturally taboo. When the human body bleeds, it is usually due to trauma. Therefore, it is no wonder that this natural function of the uterus shakes our culture. The mission to set a foundation that solidifies menstrual equity and pride is monumental and achievable through the renewal of policies and minds. It is a future that we should all hope for.

For more information on sexual and vaginal health, join us for the Tea and a Talk: Sexual Health panel at AMAKA's Our World Festival on May 4th. Click here for all the details.