Period shaming needs to stop says Alankrita Sahai

Model and actress Alankrita Sahai says ‘Period To Period Shame’ is a fantastic initiative and period shaming needs to stop.
Bollywood Biggies along with imminent personalities from business and academic world met at a two day event to raise awareness about menstrual hygiene. The event called #PeriodToPeriodShame kicks off month long campaign to reach out to as many as 4.2 Million women and called for putting an end to period shame.

Talking about the initiative, Alankrita Sahai said, “I think this initiative is fantastic and holds utmost importance and it needs to come forward in our country. In our country, periods are looked at with a lot shame and disdain, and I think a woman should never be looked up-on with anything other than respect. I think a woman’s body is beautiful and we’re the co-creators, so we need to be respected”  

“The initiative is about respecting a woman’s body. Body Shaming is really big problem, which is hand in glove with period shaming, needs to stop. Periods are biological part of woman’s body. Women are being degraded in rural areas, where women tell other women, not to visit temples, kitchen, touch food and keep them isolated during periods, which is ridiculous. Periods are the most graceful and beautiful part of women’s body, having periods is okay, missing them is problematic” added Alankrita.

As part of the campaign, Period Potlis - a bag of essential menstrual hygiene products, nutrition products and a period manual will also be distributed to young girls while imparting necessary knowledge and awareness about healthy menstruation.

Further adding, Alankrita said, “The Taboo, the rational or thought for periods is that this blood is impure. And I’m wondering, since when did the blood become impure. It is the same blood which oozes out when you get cut, only difference is that it’s coming out of female private part. So this thinking needs to change. She is shedding something out of her body which doesn’t belong there, so that she can produce healthy eggs to reproduce.

Having period is a respectful thing, it’s not vile. We all came from women’s womb, a woman gave us birth, so we need to respect that and make people aware about this process. We need to make man, boys and everyone else aware. It will take time but it needs to be done” added Sahai.   

The attendance at the event included, Sir Dr. Huz, Varun Narula, Ishit Garg, Rizwan Adatia, Sandip Dutta, Saumyata Tiwari, Anu Aggarwal, and Model Alankrita Sahai. The event hosted at Wockhardt Foundation Global Office and SL Raheja Hospital Mahim, was hosted by Dr. Nidhi Kumar and Yogini Shlloka.

The hosts called for men and women across the country to use the hashtag #PeriodToPeriodShame on social media to share their period stories and take the period pledge.