A Bunch Of Young Minds Are Changing Perception Around Menstruation

Highlights

Paddling Foundation is a non-profit organization and a menstrual hygiene initiative based out of Mumbai, India. They work towards creating awareness about menstruation and menstrual hygiene as it is one of the most incognizant issues India faces today.

The team, along with volunteers, does on-ground campaigning, distribution of menstrual products and spreads awareness about menstrual health and hygiene to women and girls in remote areas.

Paddling foundation aims to empower menstruators on menstrual hygiene and menstrual health through education and awareness. They have a volunteer setup where one can join their cause by registering on their site through the form.

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Paddling Foundation is a non-profit organization and a menstrual hygiene initiative based out of Mumbai. They work towards creating awareness about menstruation and menstrual hygiene as it is one of the most incognizant issues India faces today. Founded by Dipika Daga in December 2018, who set up her team and departments by February 2019. Paddling Foundation got registered in 2019.

“Personally struggling with the menstrual taboos engraved in the society inspired me to gather like-minded individuals to fight against the menstrual taboo, while also making menstrual hygiene and menstrual education a right of every woman and not a luxury”, adds Dipika.

If menstrual hygiene is not taken into consideration and no effective measures are taken, the taboo surrounding menstruation will persist. Periods, a biological function of the body, will continue to be misunderstood causing diseases and infections, as well as psychological impacts on mental health. Paddling is devoted to cultivating a healthy and informative discussion around menstruation.

“Paddling Foundation is led by some very courageous women and men who have the power to speak their mind”, says Riddhi Sharma, CEO & Founder. “Being a woman, I have often been at the receiving end of the ‘taboos’ and ‘stigma’ associated with the period. And hence, when I met these young driven minds, with clarity of thought and passion for the cause, I found myself effortlessly joining the movement.”

Nandina Ramchandran, CEO has been mentoring the team of ten young women and men. “They wish to change attitudes on menstruation and bring in a revolution in menstrual practices, habits and behaviours in India. This will go a long way in restoring gender parity and empowerment for women – both in urban and rural India”, she feels.

Their plan and work involves looking after school sanitation project in remote areas, imparting workshops and health camp on Menstrual health and education, free distribution of sanitary napkins in areas that lack access, availability, or awareness of menstrual products, setting up Menstrual shops selling menstrual products at a subsidized rate, thus providing them a source of income while also catering to the community at large.

They also encourage use of sustainable menstrual products and eco-friendly ways of disposal of sanitary napkins.

“Our mission is simple”, says Dipika. “ We want to create a healthy and destigmatized environment and generate awareness about menstrual health and hygiene in communities across India”.

Breaking The Taboo

Paddling Foundation is also working hard to eradicate social myths & taboos that have revolved around menstruation for generations and create an environment for a healthy discussion and understanding of it.

The team, along with volunteers, does on-ground campaigning, distribution of menstrual products and spreads awareness about menstrual health and hygiene to women and girls in remote areas.

Their recent campaign was a collaboration with Kathaa India for a donation of 1500 pads to New Delhi. In its collaboration with Youngistaan Army, Paddling distributed 800 pads in the areas around Dombivali to girls and women to whom access to these products is not possible.

Gender Inclusivity in Menstruation

One of their important campaigns involves creating awareness about trans persons who menstruate. Menstruation is not just a woman thing. With half the world menstruating at one time or another, they believe that it is important to build a gender-inclusive platform revolving solely around menstruation and normalize the discussion!

One of the lesser-known facts in our society is that any person with functioning ovaries and a uterus can menstruate. And apart from cisgender women, this includes certain transgender, non-binary and intersex individuals. While the stigma and the challenges around menstruation remain, there are some additional difficulties which are faced by individuals in the queer community.

Drawing from real life instances faced by people, they want to show the relationship between gender dysphoria and menstruation, voicing a need for taking steps towards a more inclusive menstruation; through demanding gender neutral packages, toilets and more.

Paddling Warriors

They have a volunteer set up where one can join their cause by registering on their site through the form. “It is voluntary to be a part of Paddling, for which just fill out the forms from the careers menu above, once they are filled and submitted, the respective department holds interview on call, and volunteers are selected according to the required eligibility”.

Highlights

It’s sad that we are in the 21st century and there is still a need to write this article, asking people to normalize something as natural as menstruation.

My sisters and my female friends were directed by their mothers to not talk about menstruation, especially with men.

I think menstruation would have already been normalized if men menstruated.

I wonder how many times I was unknowingly insensitive towards my mother’s menstrual pain.

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This Content is a Part of The Menstrual Hygiene Awareness 2021, in collaboration with The Logical Indian and Pee Safe.

Only when I had a girlfriend did I understand what a woman goes through during menstruation. She was the one who told me about the discomfort that she experienced
and how agonizingly painful it can be for some women. My teachers only taught me about the biological process of menstruation. My mother did go through the pain and discomfort but never told me about it. My sisters and my female friends were directed by their mothers to not talk about menstruation, especially with men. The only thing that was taught at home was that women are not allowed to enter the kitchen for a few days of every month, because they become impure. IMPURE?! I can’t even imagine how I would react if people made me believe that I was impure, but that’s what they did to my sisters and friends. They still do. Even my mother was a part of the same insensitive and oppressive system, but it was also taught to her and she followed the same mentality.

I think it’s sad that we are in the 21st century and there is still a need to write this article, asking people to normalize something as natural as menstruation, which is something that we witness first-hand in our own households on a regular basis. Then why is it still so difficult to have a conversation about it? People defecate and urinate on a regular basis, even in the open, and no one seems to care. Does that make them impure? No! Can they enter the kitchen? Hell yes, because they wash their hands and move ahead with their day. No one goes hush-hush about it. You will witness how people make her feel shame and discomfort as if it is something new or such a big deal. In fact, students are taught to freely ask for permission to use the washroom whenever they feel the urge to use the loo. We call it ‘nature’s call’. Then why isn’t menstruation considered one of nature’s calls for women? Why is there shame and stigma attached to it? If I can tell my parents/friends/teachers something like, “I’ll go pee, and then I’ll be ready”, then why can’t a girl say to them, “I’ll change my pad, and then I’ll be ready”? Why would the former be normal and the latter be obnoxious or taboo or ‘TMI’?

In my opinion, our patriarchal roots have a lot to do with making menstruation a taboo. I do not want to go into our history, when almost all religious texts or the ways of living life were either written or propagated by men, from men’s point of view. If we were to even assume a hypothetical, where men would menstruate, I think menstruation would have already been normalized.

I so wish talking about menstruation was normal, and they would teach it at home and in schools about the pain and the discomfort caused by it. I wish they could teach us about being sensitive and accommodating, just like they taught basic manners.

I wonder how many times I was unknowingly insensitive towards my mother’s menstrual pain. How many times did my sister have to walk to a nearby medical shop by herself to buy sanitary pads while in excruciating pain? If only I knew earlier. If only they were ‘allowed’ to tell me. If only they felt comfortable telling me to get it for them. I wonder if they will still tell me. I wish they would.

Author- Aman Bhutada