"No more Whispers!
No more Murmurs!
No More Silences!
Its time we scream!
Come and see the blood on my skirt.
Come and see the blood on my skirt...."
Why are we not able to discuss something that half the population deals with every month?
This is the question put forth by a campaign organiser belonging to Delhi University who began a rally to “Come And See The BLOOD on my Skirt” on Friday hoping for a more open platform on discussion on issues related to menstruation and sexuality.
“Something that we experience every month is asked to be hushed up by society, whether by our families, or at the shopkeeper’s,” said the organiser (name withheld on request) while speaking to The News Minute.
On Friday, around seventy people, many of whom studied at the Delhi University took to the streets with a plan to march into different college campuses to engage with students and create awareness towards a more open discussion on these 'difficult conversations'.
We weren't allowed to enter many colleges, but we entered three campuses where we interacted with many students, she said. Some of the women even came forward and opened up about their experiences related to menstruation, she said.
Not all about women
It’s not all about women, she says. According to her, the male gender was brought up in an environment where they were told to shun away from discussing anything related to menstruation.
Due to this, “they have a mystified idea what menses are,” she said.
“The state continues to dismiss and invisibilise the issue of universalized provision of hygienic, comfortable and sustainable menstrual care to all women irrespective of their social location,” reads a statement from the organisers of this campaign.
The campaign comes on the heels of similar campaigns held in different educational institutions across the country. In March, four students belonging to Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia were issued a showcase notice for putting up sanitary pads inked with feminist messages on them across the college campus.
This campaign, inspired by the #PadsAgainstSexism initiative started by 19 year-old Elona Kastrati in Karlsruhe, Germany went on to set off another campaign at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University where sanitary napkins with messages on them were stuck to walls on the campus.