A taboo-free way to talk about periods | Aditi Gupta

Translator: Maider Lizoain Reviewer: Jone Aliri Lazcano

Periods.

Hilerokoa.

Blood.

Odola.

Menstruation.

Menstruazioa.

Gross.

Nazka.

Secret.

Sekretua.

Hidden.

Ezkutua.

Why?

Zergatik?

A natural biological process

Prozesu biologiko naturala

that every girl and woman goes through every month

neska eta emakume guztiek hilero jasaten dutena

for about half of her life.

beren bizitzaren erdian zehar.

A phenomenon that is so significant

Biziki garrantzitsua den fenomenoa,

that the survival and propagation of our species depends on it.

horren menpe baitaude gure espeziearen biziraupena eta ugalketa.

Yet we consider it a taboo.

Baina tabutzat jotzen dugu.

We feel awkward and shameful talking about it.

Ezeroso eta lotsatuta sentitzen gara horretaz jarduterakoan.

When I got my first periods,

Lehenengo hilekoa izan nuenean,

I was told to keep it a secret from others --

besteengandik ezkutatzeko esan zidaten --

even from my father and brother.

baita nire aita eta nebarengandik ere.

Later when this chapter appeared in our textbooks,

Geroago, atal hori testuliburuetan agertu zenean,

our biology teacher skipped the subject.

biologia irakasleak hurrengo gaira egin zuen salto.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

You know what I learned from it?

Badakizue zer ikasi nuen?

I learned that it is really shameful to talk about it.

Horretaz mintzatzea lotsagarria dela.

I learned to be ashamed of my body.

Nire gorputzaz lotsatzea ikasi nuen.

I learned to stay unaware of periods

Hilerokoa alde batera uzten ikasi nuen

in order to stay decent.

neska zintzoa izan nedin.

Research in various parts of India

Indian egindako hainbat ikerketak

shows that three out of every 10 girls are not aware of menstruation

erakusten dute hamar neskatik hiruk ez daukatela hilekoaren berri

at the time of their first periods.

hilekoa lehenengo aldiz dutenean.

And in some parts of Rajasthan

Eta Rajastaneko toki batzuetan

this number is as high as nine out of 10 girls being unaware of it.

zifrak altuagoak dira: hamar neskatik bederatzi.

You'd be surprised to know

Harrituko zinatekete jakinda ezagutu ditudan neska gehienek

that most of the girls that I have spoken to,

who did not know about periods at the time of their first menstruation

hilekoari buruz ezer ere ez zekitela lehenengo aldiz hilekoa izan zutenean.

thought that they have got blood cancer

Odol minbizia zeukatela uste zuten

and they're going to die soon.

eta handik gutxira hilko zirela.

Menstrual hygiene is a very important risk factor

Higienea arrisku-faktore garrantzitsua da

for reproductive tract infections.

ugal-aparatu infekzioei dagokienez.

But in India, only 12 percent of girls and women

Baina, Indian, neska eta emakumeen %12k soilik dauzka

have access to hygienic ways of managing their periods.

menstruazio egunetan behar dituen higiene baliabideak.

If you do the math,

Kalkuluak egiten badituzue,

88 percent of girls and women use unhygienic ways to manage their periods.

%88k bide ez-higienikoak erabiltzen ditu hilerokoa daukanean.

I was one of them.

Ni haietako bat nintzen.

I grew up in a small town called Garhwa, in Jharkhand,

Garhwa izeneko hiri txiki batean hazi nintzen, Jharkhand-en,

where even buying a sanitary napkin is considered shameful.

non konpresa bat erostea ere lotsagarritzat jotzen den.

So when I started getting my periods,

Hortaz, hilerokoa izaten hasi nintzenean,

I began with using rags.

trapuak erabiltzen hasi nintzen.

After every use I would wash and reuse them.

Garbitu eta berrerabili egiten nituen erabili ostean.

But to store them,

Baina gordetzeko,

I would hide and keep it in a dark, damp place

toki ilun eta heze batean ezkutatzen nituen

so that nobody finds out that I'm menstruating.

inork ere ez jakiteko hilerokoa neukala.

Due to repeated washing the rags would become coarse,

Askotan garbitzearen ondorioz, trapuak laztu egiten ziren,

and I would often get rashes and infections using them.

eta negalak eta infekzioak izaten nituen erabiltzerakoan.

I wore these already for five years until I moved out of that town.

Bost urtez erabili nituen hiri hartatik joan nintzen arte.

Another issue that periods brought in my life

Hilekoak nire bizitzan sortu zuen beste arazo bat

those of the social restrictions

murriztapen sozialak izan ziren,

that are imposed upon our girls and women when they're on their periods.

hilerokoa daukaten neska eta emakumeei inposatzen zaizkienak.

I think you all must be aware of it,

Uste dut guztiok ezagutzen dituzuela.

but I'll still list it for the few who don't.

Hala ere, zerrendatu egingo ditut ezagutzen ez dituzuenontzat.

I was not allowed to touch or eat pickles.

Ezin nituen ozpinetako pepinoak ukitu edo jan.

I was not allowed to sit on the sofa or some other family member's bed.

Sofan edo familiakoen oheetan esertzea debekatuta neukan.

I had to wash my bed sheet after every period,

Hileko bakoitzaren ostean izarak garbitu behar nituen,

even if it was not stained.

nahiz eta garbi egon.

I was considered impure

Pertsona zikintzat jotzen ninduten

and forbidden from worshipping or touching any object of religious importance.

eta ez zidaten uzten objektu erlijiosoak gurtzen edo ukitzen.

You'll find signposts outside temples

Tenpluen kanpoaldean kartelak daude

denying the entry of menstruating girls and women.

hilekoa daukatenei sartzen uzten ez dietenak.

Ironically,

Modu ironikoan,

most of the time it is the older woman

gehienetan emakume edadetuena da

who imposes such restrictions on younger girls in a family.

murriztapen horiek inposatzen dizkiena familiako neska gazteenei.

After all, they have grown up accepting such restrictions as norms.

Azken finean, murriztapen horiek onartzen hazi dira haiek.

And in the absence of any intervention,

Eta ez denez inolako esku-hartzerik egon,

it is the myth and misconception

mitoak eta ideia okerrak dira

that propagate from generation to generation.

belaunaldiz belaunaldi zabaldu direnak.

During my years of work in this field,

Arlo horretan lanean ibili naizen urteetan,

I have even come across stories

istorioak ezagutu ditut

where girls have to eat and wash their dishes separately.

non neskek besteengandik banatuta jan eta beren platerak bereizita garbitu behar zituzten.

They're not allowed to take baths during periods,

Ez diete bainatzen uzten hilekoa dutenean,

and in some households they are even secluded from other family members.

eta, etxe batzuetan, familiako kideengandik isolatzen dituzte.

About 85 percent of girls and women in India

Indiako neska eta emakumeen %85 inguruk

would follow one or more restrictive customs on their periods every month.

ohitura murriztatzaile bat edo gehiago jasaten zuen hilero.

Can you imagine what this does

Imagina dezakezue zer eragin daukan

to the self-esteem and self-confidence of a young girl?

neska gazte baten autoestimuan eta konfiantzan?

The psychological trauma that this inflicts,

Horrek sortzen duen trauma psikologikoa,

affecting her personality,

bere izaerari eragiten diona,

her academic performance

jarduera akademikoari,

and every single aspect of growing up during her early formative years?

eta haztearen alderdi guztiei lehenengo heziketa-urteetan?

I religiously followed all these restrictive customs for 13 years,

Erlijioari jarraituz bete nituen ohitura murriztatzaileak 13 urtez,

until a discussion with my partner, Tuhin,

nire bikote Tuhinekin izandako eztabaida batek

changed my perception about menstruation forever.

hilekoarekiko nuen jarrera betirako aldatu zuen arte.

In 2009, Tuhin and I were pursuing our postgraduation in design.

2009an, Tuhin eta biok graduondoko diseinu ikasketetan ari ginen.

We fell in love with each other

Maitemindu ginen

and I was at ease discussing periods with him.

eta gustora hitz egiten nuen hilekoari buruz berarekin.

Tuhin knew little about periods.

Tuhinek ezer gutxi zekien.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

He was astonished to know that girls get painful cramps

Harritu egin zen jakitean neskek karranpa mingarriak jasaten ditugula

and we bleed every month.

eta hilero odola izaten dugula.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

Yeah.

Bai.

He was completely shocked to know

Aho zabalik geratu zen jakitean

about the restrictions that are imposed upon menstruating girls and women

zer nolako arauak inposatzen dizkieten hilekoa duten neska eta emakumeei

by their own families and their society.

beren familiek eta gizarteek.

In order to help me with my cramps,

Karranpen mina baretzen laguntzeko,

he would go on the Internet and learn more about menstruation.

Interneten bilatu eta hilekoaren inguruko gauza gehiago ikasten zituen.

When he shared his findings with me,

Aurkitutakoa kontatzen zidanean,

I realized how little I knew about menstruation myself.

neuk ere ezer gutxi nekiela konturatzen nintzen.

And many of my beliefs actually turned out to be myths.

Eta nituen uste asko mitoak besterik ez zirela.

That's when we wondered:

Orduan nire buruari galdetu nion:

if we, being so well educated,

guk, hezkuntza ona jasota

were so ill-informed about menstruation,

horren informazio kaskarra badugu,

there would be millions of girls out there who would be ill-informed, too.

informazio okerra daukaten milioika neska egongo dira.

To study --

Aztertzeko --

to understand the problem better,

arazoa hobe ulertzeko, urtebeteko ikerketari ekin nion

I undertook a year-long research to study the lack of awareness about menstruation

hilekoarekiko kontzientzia eza eta arazoaren jatorria aztertzeko.

and the root cause behind it.

While it is generally believed

Hilekoaren informazio eza eta uste okerrak

that menstrual unawareness and misconception is a rural phenomenon,

landa eremuko fenomenoa direla uste ohi den arren,

during my research,

hirietako fenomenoa ere badela ikusi nuen ikertzerakoan.

I found that it is as much an urban phenomenon as well.

And it exists with the educated urban class, also.

Eta baita ondo hezitako hiriko jendearena ere.

While talking to many parents and teachers,

Hainbat guraso eta irakaslerekin hitz egiterakoan,

I found that many of them actually wanted to educate girls about periods

konturatu nintzen haietako askok hilekoen berri eman nahi zietela neskei

before they have started getting their menstrual cycle.

hilekoaren zikloa hasi aurretik.

And --

Eta --

but they lacked the proper means themselves.

baina haiek ere ez zeukaten baliabide egokirik.

And since it is a taboo,

Eta tabu bat denez gero,

they feel inhibition and shameful in talking about it.

inhibituta eta lotsatuta sentitzen dira horri buruz mintzatzerakoan.

Girls nowadays get their periods in classes six and seven,

Neskek hamaika urte ingururekin izaten dute hilekoa lehen aldiz,

but our educational curriculum

baina gure hezkuntza curriculumean

teaches girls about periods only in standard eight and nine.

hamahiru edo hamalau urte dituztenean ikasten dute hilerokoen inguruan.

And since it is a taboo,

Eta tabu bat denez gero,

teachers still skip the subject altogether.

irakasleek gaia atzean utzi eta hurrengoari ekiten diote.

So school does not teach girls about periods,

Hortaz, eskolan ez dute hilekoaren inguruan ikasten,

parents don't talk about it.

gurasoek ez dute horri buruz hitz egiten.

Where do the girls go?

Nora jotzen dute neskek?

Two decades ago and now --

Duela bi hamarkada eta gaur egun --

nothing has changed.

ez da deus aldatu.

I shared these finding with Tuhin and we wondered:

Aurkitutakoa Tuhini erakutsi nion eta zera pentsatu genuen:

What if we could create something

zerbait sortuko bagenu

that would help girls understand about menstruation on their own --

neskek beren kabuz menstruazioa zer den ulertzeko --

something that would help parents and teachers

eta guraso eta irakasleei lagunduko dien zerbait

talk about periods comfortably to young girls?

gazteekin hilekoaz eroso jardun dezaten?

During my research,

Ikerketan

I was collecting a lot of stories.

istorio asko bildu nituen.

These were stories of experiences of girls during their periods.

Neskek hilekoa zutenean izandako esperientzien istorioak ziren.

These stories would make girls curious and interested

Istorio horiek kuriositatea eta interesa piztuko zituzten neskengan

in talking about menstruation in their close circle.

menstruazioari buruz hitz egin zezaten beren ingurukoekin.

That's what we wanted.

Hori zen nahi genuena.

We wanted something that would make the girls curious

Neskengan kuriositatea piztuko zuen zeozer nahi genuen

and drive them to learn about it.

eta horren inguruan ikastera bideratuko ziutena.

We wanted to use these stories to teach girls about periods.

Hilerokoen inguruan irakasteko erabili nahi genituen.

So we decided to create a comic book,

Beraz, komiki bat sortzea erabaki genuen,

where the cartoon characters would enact these stories

non pertsonaiek istorio horiek antzezten dituzten

and educate girls about menstruation in a fun and engaging way.

eta, hala, neskek hilekoari buruz era entretenigarrian ikasten dute.

To represent girls in their different phases of puberty,

Neskak pubertaroaren faseetan irudikatzeko,

we have three characters.

hiru pertsonaia ditugu:

Pinki, who has not gotten her period yet,

Pinki, oraindik hilekorik izan ez duena;

Jiya who gets her period during the narrative of the book

Jiya, narrazioan hilekoarekin hasten dena;

and Mira who has already been getting her period.

eta Mira, jada hilekoa izan duena.

There is a fourth character, Priya Didi.

Laugarren pertsonaia bat dago, Priya Didi.

Through her, girls come to know about the various aspects of growing up

Berari esker, haztearen hainbat aspektu

and menstrual hygiene management.

eta hileko higienea ikasten dute neskek.

While making the book, we took great care

Liburua egiterakoan, kontuan izan genuen irudiak ezin zirela iraingarriak

that none of the illustrations were objectionable in any way

and that it is culturally sensitive.

edota kulturarentzat kaltegarriak izan.

During our prototype testing, we found that the girls loved the book.

Prototipoa ateratzerakoan, neskek liburua izugarri gogoko zutela ikusi genuen.

They were keen on reading it

Irakurtzeko gogoa zuten

and knowing more and more about periods on their own.

eta haien kabuz geroz eta gehiago jakin nahi zuten hilekoaz.

Parents and teachers were comfortable in talking about periods

Guraso eta irakasleek

eroso hitz egiten zieten gaiaz neska gazteei liburua baliatuz,

to young girls using the book,

and sometimes even boys were interested in reading it.

eta batzuetan mutilek ere irakurtzeko interesa erakutsi zuten.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

The comic book helped in creating an environment

Komikiak ingurune bat sortzen lagundu zuen

where menstruation ceased to be a taboo.

non menstruazioa jada ez zen tabua.

Many of the volunteers took this prototype themselves to educate girls

Boluntarioetako askok prototipoa hartu zuten neskei erakusteko

and take menstrual awareness workshops in five different states in India.

eta hilekoarekiko kontzientzia tailerrak egin zituzten Indiako bost eskualdetan.

And one of the volunteers took this prototype to educate young monks

Boluntarioetako batek monje gazteei erakusteko hartu zuen

and took it to this monastery in Ladakh.

eta Ladakheko monasterio honetara eraman zuen.

We made the final version of the book, called "Menstrupedia Comic"

Liburuaren azken bertsioa egin genuen, "Menstrupedia Comic" izenekoa

and launched in September last year.

eta aurreko urteko irailean plazaratu genuen.

And so far,

Eta oraingoz,

more than 4,000 girls have been educated by using the book in India and --

4.000 neska baino gehiagok liburu honekin ikasi du Indian eta --

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

Thank you.

Eskerrik asko.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

And 10 different countries.

Eta baita 10 herrialde gehiagotan ere.

We are constantly translating the book into different languages

Etengabe ari gara liburua beste hizkuntzetara itzultzen

and collaborating with local organizations

eta tokiko erakundeekin elkarlanean

to make this book available in different countries.

liburua hainbat herrialdetan eskuragarri izateko.

15 schools in different parts of India

Indiako 15 eskolak

have made this book a part of their school curriculum

hezkuntza curriculumean sartu dute liburua

to teach girls about menstruation.

neskei hilekoaren inguruan irakasteko.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

I am amazed to see how volunteers,

Txundituta nago ikusita nola

boluntarioak, banakoak, gurasoak, irakasleak, eskola zuzendariak,

individuals, parents, teachers, school principals,

have come together

batu diren

and taken this menstrual awareness drive to their own communities,

eta nola zabaldu duten hilekoarekiko kontzientzia beren komunitateetan,

have made sure that the girls learn about periods at the right age

ziurtatu dute neskek adin egokian izatea hilekoaren berri

and helped in breaking this taboo.

eta tabua hausten lagundu dute.

I dream of a future where menstruation is not a curse,

Amets egiten dudan etorkizunean hilekoa ez da madarikazio bat,

not a disease,

ezta gaixotasun bat ere,

but a welcoming change in a girl's life.

neska baten bizitzako aldaketa pozgarria baizik.

And I would --

Eta --

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

And I would like to end this

Gustatuko litzaidake

with a small request to all the parents here.

hemen dauden guraso guztiei mesede txiki bat eskatuz bukatzea.

Dear parents,

Guraso maiteok,

if you would be ashamed of periods,

hilerokoaz lotsatzen bazarete,

your daughters would be, too.

zuen alabak ere lotsatuko dira.

So please be period positive.

Izan zaitezte "hilerokoaren aldekoak", mesedez.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

Thank you.

Eskerrik asko.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)