CELEBRATING WORLD MENSTRUAL HYGIENE DAY

My earliest encounter with menstruation as a young boy came while I was in primary school. A female classmate who was late to school was punished with two strokes of the cane on her backside. Seconds later, she was soiled with blood, and quickly, she was whisked away from the pandemonium that had started. Our teachers came back to tell us she was alright and was being catered for. There was no mention of what had happened to her, only that she had changed schools. Months later, we heard she had her ‘period’ while she was being caned and felt ashamed coming back to school. That experience stayed with me and left me rather confused. Years later, I understood it all, and coming to terms with it, I realized why this is a broader conversation that must be had.

For as long as we have known, men (both young and old) have always had a complicated understanding of menstruation, or what we term “women’s period’. It is a narrative that is not only surprising but also outdated and must give way to a more progressive understanding of what this natural cycle is all about. Humans tend to mystify or create myths about ideas and natural occurrences they do not understand; thus, men can be spared for being so ignorant about menstruation and how it affects women and even men as well. Regardless of that, we must change the narrative.