Mandira Bedi goes candid about taboos and myths associated with periods at IAGT India 

The dazzling diva that Mandira Bedi is, staying true to her personality has never shied away from sharing her opinion. The actress and former TV presenter recently participated in a Virtual Festival- It’s a Girl Thing India where she spoke at length about the taboos and myths around periods and why we, as responsible members of society need to normalize it. The model/actor raised some valid questions during the session like why do we need code words for periods and why the conversation around it needs to be normalized the way we are talking about mental health now.

Mandira stated, “I have a son who is 9 years old and I have recently adopted a daughter, who is 4 years old. Though I am a little away from that (period education) conversation, having said that, there is no shame as far as our bodies are concerned and I have had some preliminary conversation about how male and female bodies are made differently in a way that my son can digest it at this age. These are the things that you need to start bringing up and make it just normal. It’s not about educating young girls about what periods are but boys need to be educated as well. Mental health is now given so much importance, there are counselors in every school so why can’t counselors have sessions or schools take initiative to educate, empower young girls about periods.”

She further shares her experience and says, “At this age, I know men who are capable of having this conversation about periods but when I was growing up, my teenage years and even 20s, it was not something to be talked about. Back when I got my periods, my mum told me secretly about it and I knew a bit about it as I was the last one out of all my friends to get it but I knew very little and it was not more of a normal phenomenon.”

It’s A Girl Thing aims to build and nurture a global community that introduces young women to meaningful content, conversations, and experiences. It is an initiative that brings girls together through various formats - online, in person at festivals, cross-culturally and around their interests - so they never stop dreaming of everything they want to be. An initiative for young women by women, IAGT aims to inculcate confidence that enables them to go beyond societal norms and conventions and create a spirit of self-love and sisterhood.