What is menstruation?
Menstruation is a natural process. Menstruating girls/women bleed every month during normal conditions till they reach menopause. Why do they bleed? Is it the blood that is flowing through our veins/arteries that comes out through vagina? Is it something to do with supernatural thing? Obviously-NO.
Process of menstruation
A girl gets into her pubertal stage and she starts menstruating. Since puberty, there are chances that she gets pregnant and bear a baby. For bearing a baby, her uterus starts getting ready every month. After every menstruation cycle, the wall of uterus starts getting thicker day by day to make a suitable place for a baby to form and grow. In normal condition, after two weeks of last menstruation- ova/egg forms and travels to the main body or a big space of uterus through a tube. In this space, ova/egg from a female and sperm from a male meets and gets fused. This takes place only if a girl and a boy have sexual intercourse. Now, after fusion a baby grows undergoing multiple developmental changes. The thick uterus lining helps the baby to grow further and provides nutrition as well. But, what if a sperm from male do not enter inside the uterus?
Well- the ova has no chance to fertilize or fuse. Now, it comes out of female body through vagina. After 28 days/1 month of her last menstruation, the thickened inner part/wall of uterus also falls off because it is of no use now. This falling of thickened wall of uterus in the form of blood is what we observe as menstruation. This falling off occurs in 1-7 days of menstruation. After menstruation completes, the uterus starts thickening for next cycle. Menstruation is a regular process in girls/women. Do you think this disturbs their normal way of living? How?
Menstrual pain
Menstrual pain is a cramp-like and a throbbing pain that is felt in lower abdomen and back of the abdomen. It usually occurs before or during (1-5 days) menstruation.
Studies have reported that 80 out of 100 females experience pain during menstruation, and more than half experienced pain in every menstrual cycle. That means- they bear pain for at least 1-5 days in a month that equals to a 60 days or 2 months in a year. This is more than the total annual leave a working women generally gets in a year. And what about school/college going girls? They tend to miss these classes every year.
Experiences during menstruation that explains quality of life
A friend of mine who has regular menstrual pain shared, “My period started when I was a primary student. And since then I had a severe pain during menstruation every month. I missed 2-3 days of school every month. I always wished I had public holidays and Saturdays during my menstruation so that I no longer had to miss school. Now, I am in my twenties. I work 6 days a week and I still miss office the same way. More importantly- I always lie the reason of my leave. I cannot write to my employer saying I couldn’t attend office due to menstrual pain. We have no provision of menstrual leave. I fear whenever my menstruation date is near”.
Another friend shared, “I do have nausea, vomiting and severe back pain along with lower stomach pain during my menstruation. For about three days, I cannot do anything but just lay on my bed with a hot water bag. If menstruation starts in the evening I cannot sleep the whole night. I get dizzy the whole next day”.
A friend who is recently married said, “For three days during my menstruation, I cannot concentrate on my work at office. At the end of the day my pre-planned task do not get over that fluctuates my work for almost a week. I get frustrated because of the pain and the office work that I cannot complete. I also cannot think whenever I am in pain and my creativity becomes completely numb and dumb. Because of that- I get angry at my husband with no reasons. I hate those 4 days every month.”
Another friend who travels often during her work also shared, “Menstruation cycle disturbs my travel. I cannot travel 
when I want or whenever it’s necessary. As soon as I plan for a travel, I always check my menstrual date. If that coincide with my travel date- I either cancel it or bear the worst during the travel. I once had to keep my used pads with blood inside my bag for more than 12 hours during my travel because I didn’t find proper place to throw it. Not only that- I could not change my pads for a 12 hours long travel by bus although I had to change every four hours.”
A 15- years old cousin of mine shared an incident at her school. “One day I forgot to carry pad to school. I suddenly had periods that day during lunch time. I noticed blood stains on skirt and on my bench. I didn’t stand up that day until all the classes were over. As soon as all the boys were out of class for home I started packing up. I got up last, let my shirts over my skirt trying to cover the stain and ran home as fast as I could. I was very afraid that my friend would notice it.”
My experience is also not that different. I also do not feel confident during my periods. I hated my menstruation when I had exams. I hated my menstruation when I had lots of work to finish. I hated my menstruation if I had it during my weekdays. Three days in a month passes looking after how I can manage my pain.
Some of my friends, however, haven’t experience any menstrual pain. A friend said, “I do not know how menstrual pain feels like. But I hate it sometimes when I have to go buy and change pads in the middle of my meeting at office.”
Bearing pain and nuisance 5-7 days every month is difficult. On top of that, superstitious belief and discriminatory behavior makes it worst. Habit is what makes us ignorant about the issue.
What is needed?
Rest is what we need the most during menstrual period. Support from friends, colleagues, partners and families could make these days pass easily.