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

翻译人员: Gu Yu 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

Periods.

例假

Blood.

出血

Menstruation.

月经

Gross.

不雅

Secret.

秘密

Hidden.

遮掩

Why?

为什么会这样呢？

A natural biological process

作为一种自然的生理规律

that every girl and woman goes through every month

每个女孩和妇女在其一生中 有一半的时间

for about half of her life.

每个月都会经历例假。

A phenomenon that is so significant

这个现象如此重要

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

以至于全人类的生存 和繁衍都要依赖于它。

Yet we consider it a taboo.

然而我们却视它为禁忌。

We feel awkward and shameful talking about it.

我们谈论它时感到尴尬和羞耻。

When I got my first periods,

我第一次来例假时，

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

别人告诉我 不要将这件事告诉任何人

even from my father and brother.

哪怕是爸爸和哥哥。

Later when this chapter appeared in our textbooks,

后来在教科书上 出现了有关例假的章节，

our biology teacher skipped the subject.

但是生物老师直接跳过了内容。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You know what I learned from it?

你知道我学到了什么吗？

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

我学到了谈论例假 是非常羞耻的事。

I learned to be ashamed of my body.

我学到了为自己的身体感到羞耻

I learned to stay unaware of periods

我学到了为了保持体面就得

in order to stay decent.

假装不知道例假这件事。

Research in various parts of India

印度各地的调查显示

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

十分之三的女孩第一次来例假时

at the time of their first periods.

并不了解它。

And in some parts of Rajasthan

在拉贾斯坦邦的一些地区

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

这一比例高达十分之九。

You'd be surprised to know

你可能会感到惊讶

that most of the girls that I have spoken to,

大多数我接触过的女孩

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

在第一次来例假时 不知道例假是什么，

thought that they have got blood cancer

她们以为她们得了血癌

and they're going to die soon.

马上就要死了。

Menstrual hygiene is a very important risk factor

经期卫生是导致女性生殖道感染

for reproductive tract infections.

的重要风险因素。

But in India, only 12 percent of girls and women

但在印度 只有12%的女孩和妇女

have access to hygienic ways of managing their periods.

拥有卫生的例假处理方式。

If you do the math,

换句话说

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

88%的女孩和妇女 处理例假的方式都不卫生。

I was one of them.

我就是其中之一。

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

我在拉贾斯坦邦的 一个叫做加瓦的小镇长大

where even buying a sanitary napkin is considered shameful.

在那里甚至买卫生棉都很丢脸。

So when I started getting my periods,

所以当我来例假的时候，

I began with using rags.

使用的都是布条。

After every use I would wash and reuse them.

使用完我会清洗再利用。

But to store them,

但是我得

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

找一个阴暗潮湿的地方把它藏起来，

so that nobody finds out that I'm menstruating.

这样就没人知道我在生理期了。

Due to repeated washing the rags would become coarse,

因为反复清洗布条变得粗糙，

and I would often get rashes and infections using them.

我常常得皮疹和感染。

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

在离开了小镇之前，五年来我 一直用这样的方式处理例假。

Another issue that periods brought in my life

另外一个例假带来的不便，

those of the social restrictions

是社会强加在

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

月经期的女孩和妇女的一些限制。

I think you all must be aware of it,

我想大家都有所耳闻，

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

我将为那些不知道的人一一列举。

I was not allowed to touch or eat pickles.

我不能碰也不能吃腌菜，

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

我不能坐在沙发上 也不能坐在其他家庭成员的床上

I had to wash my bed sheet after every period,

每次例假结束我都要清洗床单，

even if it was not stained.

即使床单上没有污渍。

I was considered impure

我被认定是不洁之人

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

不允许参拜或触摸任何宗教物品。

You'll find signposts outside temples

不允许经期女性进入庙宇

denying the entry of menstruating girls and women.

的警示牌随处可见。

Ironically,

讽刺的是，

most of the time it is the older woman

这些限制往往是家族中

who imposes such restrictions on younger girls in a family.

年纪较大的女性 强加到年轻女性身上的。

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

毕竟随她们长大她们接受这些限制 并且将其当成标准。

And in the absence of any intervention,

在没有任何干预的情况下

it is the myth and misconception

这样的传播和误解

that propagate from generation to generation.

一代一代的传播下来。

During my years of work in this field,

在我研究这几年的研究中

I have even come across stories

我甚至听到过

where girls have to eat and wash their dishes separately.

女孩需要单独吃饭和洗碗 这样的故事

They're not allowed to take baths during periods,

她们在经期不允许洗澡，

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

有的家庭甚至把她们关起来 以防和其他家庭成员接触。

About 85 percent of girls and women in India

在印度大约85%的女性

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

在例假期间都会至少遵循 一条这些限制性的习俗

Can you imagine what this does

你能想象这对一个年轻女孩

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

的自尊和自信产生什么样的影响吗？

The psychological trauma that this inflicts,

这造成的心理创伤

affecting her personality,

可以影响女孩的性格

her academic performance

学习成绩

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

和在早年性格形成过程中 每个方面的成长。

I religiously followed all these restrictive customs for 13 years,

我虔诚地遵循了13年的习俗

until a discussion with my partner, Tuhin,

直到我和一个叫图新的朋友聊天

changed my perception about menstruation forever.

让我永久的改变了对生理期的看法。

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

2009年图新和我 都在读设计专业研究生。

We fell in love with each other

我们彼此相爱

and I was at ease discussing periods with him.

我和他谈论经期也比较自在。

Tuhin knew little about periods.

图新不懂例假。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

He was astonished to know that girls get painful cramps

当他知道女孩每个月有月经 甚至还要流血时

and we bleed every month.

震惊不已。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Yeah.

是的。

He was completely shocked to know

当他知道经期女性

about the restrictions that are imposed upon menstruating girls and women

受到的家庭和社会 强加的种种限制后

by their own families and their society.

更加震惊不已。

In order to help me with my cramps,

为了帮助我更好的度过月经

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

他会去搜索网络 学习更多经期知识

When he shared his findings with me,

当他和我分享月经知识的时候

I realized how little I knew about menstruation myself.

我才意识到自己对月经知之甚少。

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

很多我之前所相信的都是假的。

That's when we wondered:

我们怀疑：

if we, being so well educated,

如果我们作为受过高等教育的人，

were so ill-informed about menstruation,

都对月经知之甚少，

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

其它数百万的女孩知道的就更少了。

To study --

为了研究

to understand the problem better,

为了更好地研究这个问题，

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

我用了一年的时间来 研究为什么月经问题一直被忽视

and the root cause behind it.

和根植于背后的问题。

While it is generally believed

为什么大家普遍认为

that menstrual unawareness and misconception is a rural phenomenon,

对于月经的忽视和误解 是一个农村问题。

during my research,

在我的研究过程中，

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

我发现它也是城市问题。

And it exists with the educated urban class, also.

它在城市 受过良好教育的人群里也存在着。

While talking to many parents and teachers,

通过和许多家长和老师的讨论

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

我发现他们中很多人 实际上希望在女孩的月经来临前

before they have started getting their menstrual cycle.

告诉她月经的知识。

And --

恩

but they lacked the proper means themselves.

但是他们缺乏合适的方法。

And since it is a taboo,

因为这是一个禁忌，

they feel inhibition and shameful in talking about it.

他们在谈论 它的时候感觉压抑和羞耻。

Girls nowadays get their periods in classes six and seven,

现在女孩子大多在 六年级七年级开始来月经，

but our educational curriculum

但是我们的教育课程

teaches girls about periods only in standard eight and nine.

在八，九年级的时候 才正式的讲月经的知识。

And since it is a taboo,

而且正因为它是禁忌，

teachers still skip the subject altogether.

老师们一起仍然跳过这些内容。

So school does not teach girls about periods,

所以学校不告诉女孩经期知识，

parents don't talk about it.

家长们也不谈论这些。

Where do the girls go?

那些女孩怎么办呢？

Two decades ago and now --

20年来直到今天

nothing has changed.

一直都是这样。

I shared these finding with Tuhin and we wondered:

我和图新分享了 这些发现之后我们认为

What if we could create something

我们应该创造一些东西

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

来帮助女孩了解他们自己的生理期，

something that would help parents and teachers

创造一些能够帮助家长和老师

talk about periods comfortably to young girls?

更舒服地和孩子们谈论生理期的东西。

During my research,

在我的研究中，

I was collecting a lot of stories.

我收集了很多故事。

These were stories of experiences of girls during their periods.

这些女孩们在她们经期时的经验故事

These stories would make girls curious and interested

让其他女孩在这个 属于她们自己的圈子里

in talking about menstruation in their close circle.

好奇并感兴趣地谈论这个问题。

That's what we wanted.

这就是我们想要的。

We wanted something that would make the girls curious

我们想让女孩通过好奇心的驱使

and drive them to learn about it.

去学习月经知识。

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

我们希望用这些故事 来告诉女孩什么事例假。

So we decided to create a comic book,

所以我们决定写一本漫画书，

where the cartoon characters would enact these stories

里面的卡通角色演绎了这些故事

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

并用风趣迷人的方式 告诉女孩子们生理期的知识。

To represent girls in their different phases of puberty,

为了给不同青春期阶段的女孩 更好地展示，

we have three characters.

我们有三个人物。

Pinki, who has not gotten her period yet,

平吉，她还没有开始例假，

Jiya who gets her period during the narrative of the book

吉雅，她在这本书的叙述中 开始了例假，

and Mira who has already been getting her period.

还有米娅，她已经开始了例假。

There is a fourth character, Priya Didi.

还有第四个角色，皮里亚·迪迪。

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

通过她女孩们知道 人体成长的方方面面

and menstrual hygiene management.

和经期卫生管理知识。

While making the book, we took great care

在制作这本书的过程中，

that none of the illustrations were objectionable in any way

我们确保每一张插画都不会引起读者的反感

and that it is culturally sensitive.

和文化的敏感。

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

在我们第一版书的测试中 我们发现女孩很爱这本书。

They were keen on reading it

她们急不可待地读

and knowing more and more about periods on their own.

知道了越来越多 她们自己的经期的知识。

Parents and teachers were comfortable in talking about periods

家长和老师使用这本书 给女孩们讲经期知识时

to young girls using the book,

也非常的舒服，

and sometimes even boys were interested in reading it.

有的时候甚至男孩也对它感兴趣。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

The comic book helped in creating an environment

这本漫画书改变了大众的氛围

where menstruation ceased to be a taboo.

月经再也不是一个禁忌。

Many of the volunteers took this prototype themselves to educate girls

在印度五个不同的地区 很多志愿者用这本书的初版

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

来教育女孩并且开展 提高月经认识的讲习班。

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

甚至有一位志愿者 用这本书去教育年轻的僧人

and took it to this monastery in Ladakh.

把它带到了拉达克的寺庙中。

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

我们这本书的最终版本 叫做“月经百科”漫画

and launched in September last year.

在去年九月正式出版。

And so far,

到目前为止，

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

在印度和其他十余个不同的国家 超过4000个女孩

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

And 10 different countries.

受到了这本书的教育

We are constantly translating the book into different languages

我们不断地把这本书翻译成不同的语言

and collaborating with local organizations

不断地和当地的机构合作

to make this book available in different countries.

让这本书在不同的国家可以上市。

15 schools in different parts of India

在印度15所来自不同地方的学校

have made this book a part of their school curriculum

把这本书纳入了教学课程之中

to teach girls about menstruation.

来为女孩讲解经期知识。

(Applause)

（掌声）

I am amazed to see how volunteers,

我惊讶于志愿者

individuals, parents, teachers, school principals,

个人，家长，老师，校长

have come together

共同努力

and taken this menstrual awareness drive to their own communities,

提升所在社区的女性生理意识，

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

确保女孩在正确的时间学习生理知识

and helped in breaking this taboo.

并帮助破除这个禁忌。

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

我希望将来有一天 月经不再是一个诅咒，

not a disease,

不再是疾病，

but a welcoming change in a girl's life.

而是一个女孩生命中 受到欢迎的转折点。

And I would --

我希望

(Applause)

（掌声）

And I would like to end this

我希望在结尾

with a small request to all the parents here.

对各位家长提出一个小小的要求。

Dear parents,

亲爱的家长们，

if you would be ashamed of periods,

如果您对于例假感到羞耻，

your daughters would be, too.

您的女儿也会一样。

So please be period positive.

所以做一个积极面对例假的人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）