instead of having sacred periods, women face period injustices

*taken from our substack, found at https://substack.com/@megmars/p-164245892

Period injustices - including period poverty and period shame - impact each region, demographic and individual uniquely, manifesting across the globe in a variety of ways. Needless to say, periods affect roughly half of the population at some point during the course of their lives, so this is something we should all care about.

It goes without saying that using periods as a means of oppression and maltreatment towards women is appalling. Not only is it obviously cruel to subject women to undignified and unnecessary suffering concerning natural, divine body functionalities, but it is also a huge missed opportunity. We could be, and should be, supporting and encouraging women to honor sacred menstruation - an occasion to look within and release. During one’s period, the body is literally releasing by shedding the uterine lining to prepare for a potential pregnancy. Historically, some cultures have (properly) viewed menstruation as a woman’s most intimate connection to spirit. And women have been lowkey sustaining human existence through this process, so it really is pure magic.

Women typically have their periods for 30-40 years and throughout that time, menstrual bleeding happens every 21 to 35 days. According to UN Women, more than two billion people across the globe will menstruate each month. 

The missing piece in many cultures and societies is that we have lost touch with the fact that a period is something to be honored and ceremonialized. Instead, there remains a very narrow, misinformed view that periods are dirty and embarrassing, contributing to tremendous shame and stigma around bleeding. Women are still hiding tampons up their sleeves as they walk to the bathroom or frantically checking in the mirror to make sure their pad is undetectable. The potential to leak blood on a sheet, a chair or clothing is utterly terrifying. The message is clear: periods are not something to be spoken about, but something to hide.

And in some societies, women and girls can be shunned from public life or forced to stay out of their family home while bleeding. This is a result of cultural and religious taboos surrounding menstruation, associating period blood and bleeding women with pollution, uncleanliness or even a source of danger. Some cultures believe that menstruating women are a risk to crops and livestock. In Ghana, girls have been banned from crossing certain rivers while menstruating, directly limiting their access to eduction. More than half of women in Bangladesh do not participate in normal daily activities while menstruating, even though they may want to. In some parts of Nepal, menstruating women and girls are forced out of the home to sleep in livestock sheds, exposing them to frigid temperatures, animal attacks or sexual violence. Some cultures force women into menstrual seclusion or menstrual huts, a practice rooted in menstrual taboos. 

However, I don’t think menstrual seclusion itself is the problem. If a woman is leaning into their connection with the spirit realm, creative instincts, or her internal world during her period and wishes to seek isolation or withdrawal from sexual or domestic activities, that should be celebrated. The Yurok women, an indigenous people of Northern California, would retreat to special huts to go inward as this was seen to be a time of heightened spiritual power. They would tune in and engage in concentrated meditations seeking the purpose of existence. Yes, to all of this. 

So, to wrap this up (for now), many communities are falling short in supporting and honoring our sophisticated reproductive system- a powerful, holy womb communing with nature. And instead of periods being recognized as sacred, we are still being conditioned to be afraid or ashamed of them. But we are mystical, remarkable beings, so what gives? I say we continue to talk about periods, normalize them and of course, celebrate them (because no one else is going to do it for us, clearly).