by Ken Ee
Red, red, red. We rarely feel like it’s about “bloody time” when it comes to periods. Periods are a huge struggle, just like men—both of which would be better living without (I’m kidding). In my experience, Aunt Flo is quite the hassle when she comes knocking. Usually, on the first day of my period, I am all over the place, trying hard to endure the excruciating pain from my cramps. The ache extends throughout my back and lower body, like daggers taking sharp stabs at my abdomen and slowly twisting my insides. At my worst, I would be defeated by other period symptoms such as throwing up, extreme fatigue, and the flux—sometimes, all at once. Painkillers end up being my go-to solution to ease the pain, and unquestionably, heat pads and lots of sleep.
Menstrual health was never in talks for my conservative family; everything I know, I’ve picked up from the internet. It didn’t take me long to notice the stigma surrounding periods. I became fully aware that lending a pad meant executing a top-secret mission with my girlfriends; talking about reproductive health meant endless, childish laughter from the lads—displaying faces of disgust and further shame on periods—leaving many flushed with embarrassment. All this while, I carried on with the idea that periods were merely a women’s issue. To me, it was just another thing on the list of “all things girls have to figure out themselves“, or a “no boys allowed” topic that led to juicy, scandalous girl talks—and I was more than okay with it because, at the end of the day, I figured they couldn’t care less anyway.
I am grateful to be able to stock up on pads, as well as heat packs and painkillers for my monthly struggles, and most importantly, to gain access to an unending supply of clean water to take care of my menstrual hygiene. My privilege has left me blind-sighted to the harsh realities women face due to period poverty. Healthcare should never be a privilege available only to a select group of people, and I am sharing about period poverty so that more of us can speak up on this issue to ensure that all women will be provided necessities to care for their menstrual health. I have never once faced a dilemma between food or menstrual products—both are considered necessities for me. Every month I undergo similar struggles, yet failing to notice that menstrual products are luxury goods not everyone can access. This has to change.
As our country implements recurrent lockdowns, citizens are forced to meet their breaking point, especially poor urban families in B40 groups who are shouldering the strongest hits from this catastrophe. According to a recent survey by WASH United (NGO), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), and UNICEF, it was revealed that one in four women and girls between the ages of 13 and 35 are finding it harder to manage their periods since the beginning of the pandemic.
Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products and pain relievers, and it is an unspoken issue in Malaysia. Despite the efforts of destigmatizing periods, we still have a long way to go down the road of eradicating period poverty. In this article I wish to uncover the cause, the impact, the collective actions, and ways of leading change to eradicate this issue.
To begin with, the cause of period poverty is the patriarchy—a term I’m sure most of us are sick of hearing every time a social issue surfaces, but it’s true. In a world where men make up the majority of people in power and hold powerful political influence, period poverty is quick to be disregarded thereby contributing to the lack of women’s rights, the stigma surrounding it, as well as it being shrugged off as a “women’s issue”. As a woman, it is devastating to realize the fact that everything personal is political. Because when dueling with this double-edged sword, we are bound to get the side facing towards us.
Ending period poverty requires targeted political action to ensure that all women can gain access to affordable—or, even better, free—menstrual products. As a Malaysian, if we’re so vocal about gender equality, it is more than necessary for us to acknowledge menstrual products as a commodity and not a luxury. In fact, I believe that menstrual products should not play the role of an economical function (*mutters* bloody capitalism).
Menstrual capitalism refers to the use of periods, a biological function, as a motive to expand and open new markets for menstrual hygiene products. In regards to the “pink tax”, the Malaysian government has removed the tax on menstrual products on June 1, 2018; however, we can do better. Eradicating period poverty demands joint efforts at a legislative level for effectiveness, and a great start on that note would be to start advocating for free access to menstrual products for the B40 community, which is barely making ends meet as it is. Other than that, schools, colleges, universities, and public restrooms should be stocked with free, accessible menstrual products.
Let’s circle back to the stigma surrounding periods. In high school, I never understood why periods weren’t normalized and were instead joked about with insensitive remarks. The stigma of periods persists in conservative households, caused by closed-room conversations about menstrual health, with illogical misconceptions that periods are “dirty” and “shameful”, a demeaning secret meant to be taken to the grave as though periods are a huge conspiracy among women. It is a false belief that women are “moody” or “emotional” being on their periods, especially when you take into consideration all the symptoms we have to endure during those Aunt Flo visits.
Now, you might be thinking: Aren’t periods the source of outbursts of mood swings? While periods can sometimes cause hormonal changes and mood swings, those feelings of annoyance are usually caused by untrue assumptions followed by teasing and tactless comments.
To reduce the stigma, comprehensive sex-ed should be made mandatory in schools, and period talks should be inclusive of everyone regardless of gender. Menstrual health should be incorporated in the school syllabus to ensure that girls and women have prior knowledge in taking care of their menstrual hygiene and wellbeing instead of leaving them to fend for themselves when confronted with the sudden bloody mess and an odd-looking cotton pad or tampon. When we welcome open-minded conversations about periods and menstrual health, it will be a huge milestone in building a larger audience to understand and give support in achieving menstrual equity and eradicating period poverty.
Period poverty is a concerning issue and its impact brings about silent sufferings of young girls and women. Women and girls are forced to improvise on their periods and take other alternatives, such as old newspapers, old clothes, folds of tissue, and socks. Without access to clean water, women are also unable to take care of their menstrual hygiene. This takes a toll on women’s menstrual health as these are unhygienic and harmful methods to make do with periods, leading them to encounter severe health issues such as urinary tract infections and other health risks.
Young girls are also pressured to skip school because of their periods and this limits their right to proper education. This can be said to be due to the stigma on periods and the lack of effort in normalizing periods, especially in schools. Young girls are forced to miss school because they are intimidated by the constant glares and inaudible whispers along the school corridors at the sight of a blood-stained uniform. With Aunt Flo paying frequent visits, young girls are left with no choice but to accept this painful reality and live through the difficulties of failing to catch up with studies and eventually falling behind in school.
Periods commonly last four to seven days; by doing simple math, young girls will have to skip 12 weeks, or at least 3 months, of school annually because of period poverty. In rural areas of Malaysia, underprivileged families leave these women and girls unable to afford such a basic need, what more to say about taking care of menstrual hygiene and health. On top of that, the pandemic has exacerbated this calamity, hence why period poverty has to stop.
We must put period poverty to an end by normalizing periods, and stop the perpetuation of shame and embarrassment to ensure that a girl’s education is secured, leaving the obstacle of periods behind for young girls to work towards their glorious future.
Don’t let the conversation about menstrual health and hygiene end here with a period.