It’s ‘bloody’ normal, bro! – The Hindu

I’m not the twin-braided, wide-eyed girl in school anymore. It is a chapter closed, in the notebook of my life. But you guys are. You are all still attached to your school desks, and bags much like my saturated memory that lives. Therefore, it is crucial that I tell you the ghost of my school self was elated at the news of the Supreme Court declaring that menstrual hygiene was a fundamental right.

One eternity later, I guess (along the lines of French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir stating, in 1949 mind you, that we still talk about women’s rights because “the voluminous nonsense” that have been uttered all this while have “done little to illuminate the problem”). In 2026, we are still talking about how women are denied rights, freedom, and autonomy.

Nothing’s wrong with me!

Historically (both globally and in India), the topic of periods and anything menstrual-related have been a taboo. A visceral shame. The SC declaration felt as if an enduring frustration and fatigue from not unapologetically talking about periods met a small relief; an illumination. Periods are nothing to be negative about in society or ashamed of personally.

I had wondered oftentimes in school why there was so much hush and whisper threaded into periods when it was just a natural biological process. Even among just the girls, the consonant “p” in ‘periods’ falls soft and doesn’t make that usual firm and loud popping sound it does. The pad is hidden like a criminal. A lookout notice among besties for ‘the stain’. And the most shocking of all, that most girls (and men, of course) lack thorough basic knowledge — of how period cycles work, the complexities of periods and menstrual health, and an understanding of how menstrual products work. So long as this anxiety and lack of awareness persist, women are unable to exercise their autonomy.

Historically (both globally and in India), the topic of periods and anything menstrual-related have been a taboo.
| Photo Credit:
Representative photo: Unsplash Images

A 2020 study by National Institutes of Health revealed that only 27% of schools in India had good disposal facilities for menstrual waste on their premises. 71% of adolescent girls in India are unaware of menstruation until they get it themselves.

Period poverty

is a public health issue meaning lack of access to safe and hygienic menstrual products, education, facilities, etc.

Go with the flow!

This rooted shame, stigma, and silence can collectively be termed as “period shame”. I’ll tell you an instance from my life to reveal how casual and undeterred period shaming is. I must have been 14 or 15 then, when one day a girl in my locality called me “impure” straight to my face, reason being I was having my period. In my mind I’m going “Me? Impure? Pffft” because I was told by my mother and father that there’s nothing impure about periods and it is a natural process. What a disrespectful comment that was. Later I pondered and realised that this is exactly the way period shame reinforces itself in society. It could either start from one’s own home, acquired from peers and people around, or by your own through complete silence about periods. We aren’t talking about it enough because there’s still dirty embarrassment, shame (conscious and unconscious), and misinformation (like calling another human “impure” for no logical reason) connected to it. Most men, on the other hand naively aid the shame, for their own lack of knowledge and experience.

Let’s talk more!

Our In School editorial cohort at the moment is mostly filled with young women. Here, they explore and quip about their own experiences with periods, period shame, and all the annoying things that people often don’t talk about!

Vaishnavi Gopinath: “There are two main things that I find annoying. Firstly, when I am told that many other women undergo the same cycles as me and that I shouldn’t overreact over my cramps. And secondly, it doesn’t matter what events or plans I have for oncoming days, my cycle will hit me on happy days and add a dash of frustration and discomfort into the mix!!!”

(Gaslighting and invalidation are common.)

Sweta Gupta: “I come from a typical Indian joint family where superstitions were common. I was in Class 6 when I got my first period. I’ve always been very close to my father, so when I saw blood, I went to him instead of my mother. He stayed calm but asked me to inform her. My mother, however, was upset. She said I got it too early because I ate too much junk food and warned me that once a girl gets her period, she stops growing taller, something that worried me and my family as I’ve always been petite.

Menstruation is not a taboo.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

After that, everything changed. I was told not to jump or run around, to sit properly, and especially not to mention it to the men in the family. My mother would speak about it in whispers. There was even a small ritual where I had to tie a red thread near our garage, I never questioned it.

We still aren’t allowed to visit temples during our periods. But over time, conversations at home have become more open. Today, I don’t hide my sanitary napkins, and I can openly say I have cramps without shame. I’m proud of how far we’ve come, even though some people still feel uncomfortable talking about it.”

U.S Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn recently spoke out at the Winter Olympics that periods are hard and scary when you’re also an athlete, yet people don’t talk about periods at all!

Divya Vinayak Patilkulkarni: “It’s not just the cycle itself. What happens before the cycle is also something we need to be aware of. Our body sets off certain alarms before our period starts. Most girls go through premenstrual symptoms, myself included. It comes with uneasiness, indigestion, and a lot of other bodily discomforts.”

(Pre- and post period symptoms are not actively focused on and educated about largely due to period shaming.)

Malavika Unnikrishnan Menon: Ever since I was eight, I had been well informed about the menstrual cycle, and all the credit goes to my mother, who realised the importance of imparting that knowledge to me.

As a child with insatiable curiosity, I would pester her by asking when I would get my period—much to her horror! The idea of becoming a grown-up girl excited me.

This continued until the day it finally happened, when I was at home. Believe me when I say I didn’t scream; instead, I was confused and unsure whether my assumption was right. I only got confirmation when my mother said, “Oh yes, you got your period.”

To this day, when I reminisce about the time I wished for my period to arrive, I pat myself on the back and say, “You should have wished for something else.”

P.S. Niranjana: “Back in school, I remember going to buy sanitary napkins in supermarkets and even the campus shop we had with my friend. The number of layers, from the two sheets of paper to a thread wrapped around it, to a brown paper bag, to the plastic bag, I remember just staring and thinking how hilarious the secrecy around it was! Unfortunately, it remains the same whenever you go to your nearby store, even today. Sad realities.”

(Mummifying pads are so common! Also why are we still taxing them?)

It’s ‘bloody’ normal, bro!
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

Takeaway

Compassion is the weapon you need to dismantle all the roots of period shame. Every girl ‘periods’ differently. Some get cramps, some don’t. Some wear pads, some wear menstrual cups. Our lifestyle affects our periods. The list goes on. Be vocal about helping those in need and never shy away from talking about it when required, whether it be with a man or another woman. Silence causes more diseases to your body than conversation. And this way, all of us (boys, girls) remain meaningfully conscious and educated about how human bodies work.