On a mission to break silence surrounding red droplets
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, May 24 2014 : Despite menstruation being a natural process that is part of every girl and woman's life, it is still treated as a taboo subject in countless cultures and societies across the globe.

As a result, menstruating girls and women often feel ashamed and embarrassed about themselves, and they would rather keep it a secret than talk about it with anyone.

But Urmila Chanam, a young woman activist and writer from Manipur, has decided to help break the barriers separating conversations not just among girls/women but also between women and men on this subject in a most unusual way.

She has introduced the subject of menstruation on a radio program and contest leading up to International Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, 2014 .

Urmila began a global campaign named 'Breaking the Silence' and 'Celebrating the Red Droplets' a little over a week ago on social media- Facebook and Twitter, with a vision to raise awareness on menstrual hygiene and issues revolving around it in the country and the mission to engage as many girls, boys, women and men on the campaign and disseminate basic information to them on the biology of menstruation, the know-how of its hygienic management and the socio-cultural aspects of menstruation.

"Isn't it time that we stop treating the bodily functions that lead to new life as untouchable subjects, and also stop creating a class of untouchable people who handle the products of our menstruation and other elimination that leads to new life?", the young activist posed on the homepage of her campaign on the Facebook.

"It is past time that women and men actually understand the ways our individual bodies work to create lives from our loins.

All of life, including menstruation, is a sacred cycle", Urmila said, adding that this is what is trying to explain to the people.

She has included both male and female in her discussion group on how our lives and bodies really work.

Besides, radio program and contest, Urmila's campaign will also include giving trainings to girls in Pakistan over skype, release of a short film which is a compilation of all the video messages that people from around the world have sent to the campaign, a 3-5 km walk in the middle of Bangalore with supporters, women and men and few surprises she is keeping a secret for now.

To create a united voice for women and girls around the world, to help break the silence and confront the social norms that often prohibit girls and women from reaching their full potential as well as to address the challenges and hardships many women and girls face during menstruation, May 28 every year is celebrated around the globe as International Menstrual Hygiene Day.

The choice of 28th of May for the celebration is significant from the fact that May is the fifth month of the year, representing 5 days, or the average number of days (between 2-7) a woman or girl menstruates each month and 28 represents the average number of days in a menstrual cycle.

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