Full story here: Talking about menstruation
Additional thoughts and information: Women in Nepal inspire me. With a hard history of patriarchy, the women of this country have endured a lot and it thrills me when I see ways in which they are able to improve their situation. One of the many many many things that lower the stature of women in Nepal is our monthly bleeding.
As Anna of WASH says, it’s the most natural thing in the world. And yet, this very normal and natural part of being a woman is still considered dirty and impure in many parts of Nepal, which simply sickens me.It angers me that women are treated in inhuman ways and that the physical pain and discomfort isn’t enough but that women here are also subject to social and cultural humiliation.
Given this history, I was stoked to do this story and was bummed that were were many things I had to leave out. I wasn’t able to touch on chapadi but I feel like that’s a whole another story I’d like to do after visiting areas where it is still practiced.
What I really wanted to include and couldn’t was: reuseable pads!
Based on the design of the sanitary pads available in the market, women in Nepal have adapted the idea and meshed it with the more common method of dealing with menstruation – using kapras, or old saris. It is simple, ingenious and has so many pros!
The reuseable pads are easily made in Nepal, in fact, women can make them themselves at home. The wings on the side make them easier to wear like the Stayfree or Kotex pads you could buy, except you won’t have to spend Rs 20 – 100+ for a pack. The really clever thing about these cloth pads is that you have cloth napkins that you can stuff the pads with for added thickness and security. Then, you can wash and dry them (in the sun!) so they are more environmentally friendly as well. Also, I was told that these cloths are safer – since pads you buy are very white, it’s a safe bet that some chemicals have been used to get them that color, but these homemade pads are chemical free and probably better for your privates!
Of course, where these become difficult is the disposing – unlike pads, you can’t just wrap them up and chuck them in a bin (well, you could but that would defeat the purpose of it’s reuseability). Besides that, they’re cheaper, safer, smarter, and more comfortable – I think they’re a great way to deal with the monthly flow.
Another factor I was unable to add was the dangers of being ashamed of the fact that a woman bleeds. Shame goes hand in hand with secrecy and the need to hide things – in this case, women don’t want their kapras to be seen which means instead of being dried in the sun like they should be, they’re hung indoors in places that are most likely dark and damp.
These conditions are perfect for breeding bacteria and could easily lead to a range of issues like infections to rashes among others. And, if a woman is to ashamed to dry her rags outside I doubt she’d be able to see help for the vaginal problems that she faces. In my interview I asked for a worst case scenario and was told the story of a girl who dried her period rags in a tree, and when using them, an ant that had been on the cloth found its way inside of her eventually leading to her death.
What is the most tragic part of that story is that it’s something that could be so easily avoided.
Slowly Nepal is changing and women are starting to show just how capable they are, but we need men to change their way of thinking to! Having our periods shouldn’t been viewed as us being weaker or impure, it doesn’t even have to be glorified and celebrated – what should be able to accept it and move on towards equality.
In Print and Beyond 