spread ur wings
London
Before living in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, I hadn’t thought much about
menstruation. I was the last one in my class to get my period and when I did, my
dad bought me flowers and my mother wanted to throw me a period party. With such
a body-positive family, I felt like periods were, if anything, too much in the
limelight. While working for a local non-governmental organization (NGO) in UP,
I surveyed hundreds of girls in rural villages to ask what they needed. What I
heard over and over again was: We need information about how our bodies work,
why we change during puberty, and how to care for ourselves. So I began sitting
in on menstrual hygiene trainings, studying best practices from other local
NGOs, and learning how to conduct my own. The overwhelming majority of women and
girls with whom we spoke used mattress stuffing or dirty rags as pads and hadn’t
learned about menstruation until they’d already begun bleeding. I couldn’t stop
imagining how terrifying it would be to suddenly begin bleeding profusely from
my genitals without understanding why it’s happening. Story after story
solidified my devotion to assist these girls in knowing and loving their bodies.
One girl recounted how her friend died of an infection. As a sanitary napkin,
the friend used a dirty rag that had cleaned a bicycle. She was then too ashamed
of her vaginal discomfort to seek medical help. I began realizing what those in
this field already know: this issue requires widespread attention. And this
issue requires much more than briefly supplying girls with information and
sanitary napkins. If girls internalize they are inherently impure, then they’re
set up for a life of devaluing their bodies. The social norms and mindsets of
shame surrounding vaginas and periods have fatal and traumatic psychological
consequences. I created Spreading Your Wings to help address these obstacles. No
other Hindi or English comic book exists that speaks to the rural specific
logistical and social challenges these girls face. The book incorporates
metaphors, games, and explanations that my team and I have seen resonate with
girls in our trainings. We strive to not just equip girls with accurate and
relatable information, but to help them reframe the very way that they see their
bodies, to transform the shame they feel into pride. Thank you so much for
taking the time to read about Spreading Your Wings and this issue we care deeply
about. To learn more about this issue and why it's important, check out my
article, "Becoming a Menstruating Woman." We’d be overjoyed if you helped us
spread the word. Thanks again!
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