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

Translator: Leah Ligate Reviewer: Joachim Mangilima

Periods.

Siku.

Blood.

Damu.

Menstruation.

Hedhi.

Gross.

Uchafu.

Secret.

Siri.

Hidden.

Kuficha.

Why?

Kwanini?

A natural biological process

Utaratibu asilia kibaolojia

that every girl and woman goes through every month

ambao kila msichana na mwanamke anapitia kila mwezi

for about half of her life.

kwa karibia nusu ya maisha yake.

A phenomenon that is so significant

Jambo ambalo ni la umuhimu mkubwa sana

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

kiasi kwamba kupona na uenezwaji wa spishi zetu unautegemea.

Yet we consider it a taboo.

Bado tunauchukulia kama mwiko.

We feel awkward and shameful talking about it.

Tunajisikia ugumu na fedheha kuliongelea.

When I got my first periods,

Nilipopata siku zangu mara ya kwanza,

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

Niliambiwa nifanye iwe siri nisiwaambie wengine--

even from my father and brother.

hata kwa baba yangu au kaka.

Later when this chapter appeared in our textbooks,

Baadaye wakati hili somo limejitokeza vitabuni mwetu,

our biology teacher skipped the subject.

mwalimu wetu wa baolojia aliiruka mada.

(Laughter)

(Kicheko)

You know what I learned from it?

Nilijifunza nini kutokana na hili?

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

Nilijifunza kwamba ni fedheha mno kuongelea jambo hili.

I learned to be ashamed of my body.

Nilijifunza kufedheshwa na mwili wangu.

I learned to stay unaware of periods

Nilijifunza kutokufahamu siku zangu

in order to stay decent.

ili kuweza kubaki na heshima.

Research in various parts of India

Utafiti katika sehemu mbalimbali India

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

waonyesha wasichana watatu kati ya kumi hawafahamu kuhusu hedhi

at the time of their first periods.

wakati wa siku zao za kwanza.

And in some parts of Rajasthan

Na baadhi ya sehemu za Rajasthan

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

hii namba ni kubwa kama wasichana tisa kati ya kumi kutokufahamu

You'd be surprised to know

Unaweza kushangazwa kujua

that most of the girls that I have spoken to,

kwamba wasichana wengi nilioongea nao,

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

waliokuwa hawajui kuhusu siku zao wakati wa hedhi zao za kwanza

thought that they have got blood cancer

walifikiria kuwa wana saratani ya damu

and they're going to die soon.

na watakufa muda sio mrefu.

Menstrual hygiene is a very important risk factor

Usafi wa hedhi ni kipengele muhimu cha hatari

for reproductive tract infections.

kwa maambukizi wa mfumo wa via vya uzazi.

But in India, only 12 percent of girls and women

Lakini India, ni asilimia 12 tu ya wasichana na wanawake

have access to hygienic ways of managing their periods.

wanaweza kupata njia za usafi wa kumudu siku zao.

If you do the math,

Ukifanya mahesabu,

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

asilimia 88 ya wasichana na wanawake hutumia njia zisizo salama kwa siku zao.

I was one of them.

Nilikuwa mmoja wao.

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

Nilikulia kwenye mji mdogo uitwao Garhwa, jimbo la Jharkhand,

where even buying a sanitary napkin is considered shameful.

ambako hata kununua pedi ilichukuliwa kama fedheha.

So when I started getting my periods,

Sasa nilipoanza kupata siku zangu,

I began with using rags.

Nilianza kutumia matambara.

After every use I would wash and reuse them.

Baada ya kila matumizi niliyafua na kuyatumia tena.

But to store them,

Lakini kuyahifadhi,

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

Niliyaficha na kuyaweka sehemu yenye giza na unyevu

so that nobody finds out that I'm menstruating.

ilikwamba mtu asijue kuwa niko kwenye hedhi.

Due to repeated washing the rags would become coarse,

Kwa kuyarudia kufua matambara yalikuja kuwa magumu,

and I would often get rashes and infections using them.

na mara nyingi nilipata upele na maambukizi kwa kuyatumia.

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

Niliyavaa kwa muda wa miaka mitano hadi nilipohama ule mji.

Another issue that periods brought in my life

Suala lingine ambalo siku zilileta maishani mwangu

those of the social restrictions

lile la kuwekewa mipaka kijamii

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

iliyowekwa kwa wasichana wetu na wanawake wakiwa kwenye siku zao.

I think you all must be aware of it,

Nafikiri wote lazma mtakuwa mnajua,

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

lakini bado nitaelezea kwa wale wachache wasiojua.

I was not allowed to touch or eat pickles.

Sikuruhusiwa kula au kugusa vitu vichachu.

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

Sikuruhusiwa kukaa kwenye sofa au kitandani mwa ndugu wa familia.

I had to wash my bed sheet after every period,

Nilitakiwa kufua mashuka kila baada ya siku zangu,

even if it was not stained.

hata kama hazikuchafuka kwa madoa.

I was considered impure

Nilichukuliwa kama najisi

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

na kukatazwa kuabudu au kugusa kitu chochote chenye umuhimu kidini.

You'll find signposts outside temples

Ulikutana na matangazo nje ya misikiti

denying the entry of menstruating girls and women.

kukataza wasichana na wanawake walio kwenye hedhi.

Ironically,

Chakuchekesha,

most of the time it is the older woman

wakati wote ni wanawake watu wazima

who imposes such restrictions on younger girls in a family.

ndio walioweka vizuizi hivyo kwa wasichana wadogo katika familia.

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

hata hivyo, wamekua wakikubali vizuizi hivyo kama desturi.

And in the absence of any intervention,

Na katika kukosekana kwa kuingiliwa,

it is the myth and misconception

ni imani potofu na kutoeleweka

that propagate from generation to generation.

kunakoenezwa kizazi hata kizazi.

During my years of work in this field,

Kwa miaka nilyofanyia kazi taaluma hii,

I have even come across stories

Nimeshakutana na hadithi

where girls have to eat and wash their dishes separately.

ambapo wasichana walitakiwa kula na kuosha vyombo vyao kwa kutengwa.

They're not allowed to take baths during periods,

Hawakuruhusiwa kuoga wakati wa siku zao,

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

na katika nyumba nyingine walitengwa hata na ndugu wengine wa familia.

About 85 percent of girls and women in India

Kiasi cha asilimia 85 za wasichana na wanawake India

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

walifuata moja au zaidi ya masharti ya mila kwenye siku zao kila mwezi.

Can you imagine what this does

Unafikiria hii inafanya nini

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

katika kujithamini na kujiamini kwa msichana mdogo?

The psychological trauma that this inflicts,

Kiwewe cha kisaikolojia ambacho hili huumiza,

affecting her personality,

kuathiri haiba yake,

her academic performance

utendaji wake kimasomo

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

na kila kipengele cha ukuaji katika miaka ya awali ya uumbaji wake?

I religiously followed all these restrictive customs for 13 years,

Nilifuata kwa bidii masharti haya yote ya kimila kwa miaka 13,

until a discussion with my partner, Tuhin,

hadi mjadala na mshirika mwenzangu, Tuhin,

changed my perception about menstruation forever.

ulipobadilisha mtazamo wangu kuhusu hedhi milele.

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

Mwaka 2009, mimi na Tuhin tulikuwa tunasoma stashada katika ubunifu.

We fell in love with each other

Tukapendana

and I was at ease discussing periods with him.

na nilikuwa huru kujadiliana naye kuhusu siku zangu.

Tuhin knew little about periods.

Tuhin alijua kidogo kuhusu siku.

(Laughter)

(Kicheko)

He was astonished to know that girls get painful cramps

Alishangazwa kujua kwamba wasichana hupata maumivu makali

and we bleed every month.

na hutokwa damu kila mwezi.

(Laughter)

(Kicheko)

Yeah.

Ndio.

He was completely shocked to know

Alishtushwa kabisa kujua

about the restrictions that are imposed upon menstruating girls and women

kuhusu vizuizi vinavyowekwa kwa wasichana na wanawake walio kwenye hedhi

by their own families and their society.

na familia pamoja na jamii zao wenyewe.

In order to help me with my cramps,

Ili kuweza kunisaidia na maumivu yangu,

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

alikwenda kwenye mtandao wa intaneti kujifunza kuhusu hedhi.

When he shared his findings with me,

Aliponielezea alichojifunza,

I realized how little I knew about menstruation myself.

Niligundua ufahamu mdogo nilionao kuhusu hedhi,

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

na vitu vingi nilivyoamini vilikuja kuwa ni imani potofu,

That's when we wondered:

Ndipo nilipojiuliza:

if we, being so well educated,

kama sisi, tumesoma vizuri hivi,

were so ill-informed about menstruation,

tumefundishwa vibaya kuhusu hedhi,

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

kutakuwa na mamilioni ya wasichana huko nje waliofundishwa vibaya, pia.

To study --

Kusoma--

to understand the problem better,

kuelewa tatizo vizuri,

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

Nilifanya utafiti wa mwaka mmoja kujifunza ukosefu wa ufahamu kuhusu hedhi

and the root cause behind it.

na chanzo chake nyuma yake.

While it is generally believed

Wakati kiujumla inaaminika

that menstrual unawareness and misconception is a rural phenomenon,

kwamba kutokufahamu hedhi na kuelewa vibaya ni tatizo la vijijini,

during my research,

katika utafiti wangu,

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

Niligundua kwamba ni tatizo la mijini pia.

And it exists with the educated urban class, also.

Na lipo kwa daraja la walioelimika mijini, pia.

While talking to many parents and teachers,

Wakati naongea na wazazi wengi pamoja na waalimu,

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

Niligundua kuwa wengi wao walitaka kuelimisha wasichana kuhusu siku zao

before they have started getting their menstrual cycle.

kabla hawajaanza kupata mzunguko wao wa hedhi.

And --

Na--

but they lacked the proper means themselves.

lakini wenyewe walikosa njia stahiki.

And since it is a taboo,

Na kwavile ni mwiko,

they feel inhibition and shameful in talking about it.

wanajisikia kusita na fedheha kuongelea jambo hilo.

Girls nowadays get their periods in classes six and seven,

Wasichana siku hizi hupata siku zao wakiwa darasa la sita na la saba,

but our educational curriculum

lakini mtaala wetu wa elimu

teaches girls about periods only in standard eight and nine.

hufundisha wasichana kuhusu siku zao darasa la nane na la tisa tu.

And since it is a taboo,

na kwa vile ni mwiko,

teachers still skip the subject altogether.

waalimu bado wanairuka mada.

So school does not teach girls about periods,

Hivyo shule haziwafundishi wasichana kuhusu siku zao,

parents don't talk about it.

wazazi hawazungumzii jambo hilo.

Where do the girls go?

Wasichana wanaenda wapi?

Two decades ago and now --

Miongo miwili iliyopita na sasa--

nothing has changed.

hakuna kilichobadilika.

I shared these finding with Tuhin and we wondered:

Nilimshirikisha Tuhin matokeo yangu na tulijiuliza

What if we could create something

Itakuwaje tukianzisha kitu

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

ambacho kitasaidia wasichana kuelewa kuhusu hedhi wao wenyewe --

something that would help parents and teachers

Kitu ambacho kitawasaidia wazazi na waalimu

talk about periods comfortably to young girls?

kuongelea kuhusu siku za hedhi kwa raha kwa wasichana wadogo?

During my research,

Wakati wa utafiti wangu,

I was collecting a lot of stories.

Nilikuwa nakusanya hadithi nyingi.

These were stories of experiences of girls during their periods.

Hizi ni hadithi za mambo waliyopitia wasichana kipindi cha siku zao.

These stories would make girls curious and interested

Hadithi hizi zitawafanya wasichana wawe wadadisi na kuvutiwa

in talking about menstruation in their close circle.

katika kuongea kuhusu hedhi ndani ya watu wao wa karibu.

That's what we wanted.

Hicho ndio tulichotaka.

We wanted something that would make the girls curious

Tulitaka kitu ambacho kingewafanya wasichana wawe wadadisi

and drive them to learn about it.

na kuwasukuma kujifunza.

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

Tulitaka kutumia hadithi hizi kufundisha wasichana kuhusu siku zao.

So we decided to create a comic book,

Hivyo tukaamua kutengeneza kitabu cha vikatuni

where the cartoon characters would enact these stories

ambapo wahusika wa katuni wataigiza hadithi hizi

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

na kuwaelimisha wasichana kuhusu hedhi kwa njia ya kufurahisha na kuwashirikisha.

To represent girls in their different phases of puberty,

Kuwasilisha wasichana katika hatua zao tofauti za kubalehe,

we have three characters.

tunao wahusika watatu.

Pinki, who has not gotten her period yet,

Pinki, ambaye hajapata siku zake bado,

Jiya who gets her period during the narrative of the book

Jiya anayepata siku zake wakati wa simulizi za kitabu

and Mira who has already been getting her period.

na Mira ambaye tayari amekuwa akipata siku zake.

There is a fourth character, Priya Didi.

Kuna mhusika wa nne, Priya Didi.

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

Kupitia yeye, wasichana wanakuja kujua kuhusu vipengele kadhaa vya ukuaji

and menstrual hygiene management.

na kusimamia usafi wa hedhi.

While making the book, we took great care

Utengenezaji kitabu, ulitumia umakini

that none of the illustrations were objectionable in any way

hakuna katika vielelezo ambavyo vilikuwa na pingamizi lolote

and that it is culturally sensitive.

na hiyo ni nyeti kitamaduni.

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

Wakati wa majaribio ya sampuli ya awali tuligundua wasichana wakilipenda kitabu.

They were keen on reading it

Walikuwa na hamu ya kukisoma

and knowing more and more about periods on their own.

na kujua zaidi na zaidi kuhusu siku zao wao wenyewe.

Parents and teachers were comfortable in talking about periods

Wazazi na waalimu walikuwa hawaoni shida kuongea kuhusu siku

to young girls using the book,

kwa wasichana wadogo kutumia kitabu

and sometimes even boys were interested in reading it.

na wakati mwingine hata wavulana walivutiwa kukisoma.

(Laughter)

(Kicheko)

(Applause)

(Makofi)

The comic book helped in creating an environment

Kitabu cha vikatu kilisaidia katika kujenga mazingira

where menstruation ceased to be a taboo.

ambapo itasimamisha hedhi kuwa mwiko.

Many of the volunteers took this prototype themselves to educate girls

Wengi wa waliojitolea walichukua hii sampuli ya awali kuelimisha wasichana

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

na kufanya warsha za kuelimisha hedhi katika majimbo matano tofauti India.

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

na mmoja wa waliojitolea alitumia sampuli hii kuelimisha watawa vijana

and took it to this monastery in Ladakh.

na aliipeleka kwenye nyumba ya utawa Ladakh.

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

Tulitengeneza toleo la mwisho la kitabu, tukakiita "Menstrupedia Comic"

and launched in September last year.

na kukizindua Septemba mwaka jana.

And so far,

Na mpaka sasa,

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

zaidi ya wasichana 4,000 wameelimika kwa kutumia kitabu India na --

(Applause)

(Makofi)

Thank you.

Asanteni.

(Applause)

(Makofi)

And 10 different countries.

na nchi nyingine 10.

We are constantly translating the book into different languages

Mara kwa mara tunakitafsiri kitabu katika lugha tofauti

and collaborating with local organizations

Na kushirikiana na mashirika ya ndani nchi

to make this book available in different countries.

na kufanya hiki kitabu kipatikane katika nchi tofauti.

15 schools in different parts of India

Mashule 15 katika sehemu tofauti India

have made this book a part of their school curriculum

yamekifanya kitabu hiki kuwa sehemu ya mtaala wa shule zao

to teach girls about menstruation.

kufundisha wasichana kuhusu hedhi.

(Applause)

(Makofi)

I am amazed to see how volunteers,

Nafurahishwa kuona jinsi wanaojitolea,

individuals, parents, teachers, school principals,

watu binafsi, wazazi waalimu, wakuu wa mashule

have come together

wamekutana pamoja

and taken this menstrual awareness drive to their own communities,

na kufanya msukumo huu wa ufahamishaji wa hedhi kwa jamii zao,

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

wamehakikisha wasichana wanajifunza kuhusu siku zao katika umri sahihi

and helped in breaking this taboo.

na kusaidia katika kuvunja mwiko huu

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

Ninaota maisha ya mbele ambapo hedhi sio laana,

not a disease,

sio ugonjwa,

but a welcoming change in a girl's life.

ila ni mabadiliko katika maisha ya msichana.

And I would --

Na ninge --

(Applause)

(Makofi)

And I would like to end this

Na ningependa kumalizia hii

with a small request to all the parents here.

kwa ombi dogo kwa wazazi wote hapa.

Dear parents,

Wapendwa wazazi,

if you would be ashamed of periods,

kama mtakuwa mnafedheheshwa na hedhi

your daughters would be, too.

na mabinti zenu watafedheheshwa, pia.

So please be period positive.

Hivyo tafadhali muwe na mtazamo chanya katika siku.

(Laughter)

(Kicheko)

Thank you.

Asanteni.

(Applause)

(Makofi)