Periods. Blood. Menstruation. Gross. Secret. Hidden. Why?
Ciklus. Krv. Menstruacija. Ljigavost. Tajna. Skrivanje. Zašto?
A natural biological process that every girl and woman goes through every month for about half of her life. A phenomenon that is so significant that the survival and propagation of our species depends on it. Yet we consider it a taboo. We feel awkward and shameful talking about it.
Prirodni biološki proces kroz koji svaka devojka i žena prolazi svakog meseca oko polovine njenog života. Pojava koja je toliko značajna da opstanak i razmnožavanje naše vrste zavise od nje. Ipak je smatramo tabuom. Osećamo se neugodno i postiđeno kad govorimo o njoj.
When I got my first periods, I was told to keep it a secret from others -- even from my father and brother. Later when this chapter appeared in our textbooks, our biology teacher skipped the subject.
Kad sam dobila prvu menstruaciju, rekli su mi da to čuvam kao tajnu od drugih - čak i od svog oca i brata. Kasnije kad se poglavlje o tome pojavilo u udžbenicima, naš nastavnik biologije je preskočio tu temu.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
You know what I learned from it? I learned that it is really shameful to talk about it. I learned to be ashamed of my body. I learned to stay unaware of periods in order to stay decent.
Znate šta sam naučila iz toga? Naučila sam da je zaista sramota govoriti o tome. Naučila sam da se sramim svog tela. Naučila sam da budem nesvesna menstruacije kako bih bila pristojna.
Research in various parts of India shows that three out of every 10 girls are not aware of menstruation at the time of their first periods. And in some parts of Rajasthan this number is as high as nine out of 10 girls being unaware of it. You'd be surprised to know that most of the girls that I have spoken to, who did not know about periods at the time of their first menstruation thought that they have got blood cancer and they're going to die soon.
Istraživanja u raznim krajevima Indije pokazuju da tri od deset devojaka nisu upoznate s menstruacijom u momentu kad je prvi put dobiju. A u nekim delovima Radžastana cifra dostiže čak i do devet od deset devojaka nije upoznato s tim. Iznenadiće vas da znate da je većina devojaka s kojima sam razgovarala, koje nisu znale za menstruaciju u vreme kada su je prvi put dobile, mislilo da ima rak krvi i da će da umru uskoro.
Menstrual hygiene is a very important risk factor for reproductive tract infections. But in India, only 12 percent of girls and women have access to hygienic ways of managing their periods. If you do the math, 88 percent of girls and women use unhygienic ways to manage their periods.
Menstrualna higijena je veoma važan faktor rizika za infekcije reproduktivnog trakta. Međutim u Indiji svega 12 procenata devojaka i žena ima pristup menstrualnim higijenskim sredstvima. Ako izračunate, 88 procenata devojaka i žena koriste nehigijenska menstrualna sredstva.
I was one of them. I grew up in a small town called Garhwa, in Jharkhand, where even buying a sanitary napkin is considered shameful. So when I started getting my periods, I began with using rags. After every use I would wash and reuse them. But to store them, I would hide and keep it in a dark, damp place so that nobody finds out that I'm menstruating. Due to repeated washing the rags would become coarse, and I would often get rashes and infections using them.
Bila sam jedna od njih. Odrasla sam u malom gradu po imenu Garva u Džarkandu, gde se čak i kupovina uložaka smatra sramotom. Pa kad sam počela da dobijam menstruaciju, koristila sam krpice. Nakon svake upotrebe bih ih oprala i ponovo koristila. Ali prilikom odlaganja, krila bih ih i držala na mračnom, vlažnom mestu kako niko ne bi saznao da imam menstruaciju. Zbog stalnog pranja, krpice bi postale grube, pa bih često dobijala osip i infekcije zbog njih.
I wore these already for five years until I moved out of that town. Another issue that periods brought in my life those of the social restrictions that are imposed upon our girls and women when they're on their periods. I think you all must be aware of it, but I'll still list it for the few who don't.
Kad sam napustila taj grad, već sam ih nosila pet godina. Dodatni razlog zašto sam se bavila menstruacijom su društvena ograničenja koja su nametnuta devojkama i ženama kada imaju menstruaciju. Mislim da ste ih svi vi svesni, ali ću ih ipak nabrojati, zbog nekolicine vas koji niste.
I was not allowed to touch or eat pickles. I was not allowed to sit on the sofa or some other family member's bed. I had to wash my bed sheet after every period, even if it was not stained. I was considered impure and forbidden from worshipping or touching any object of religious importance. You'll find signposts outside temples denying the entry of menstruating girls and women.
Bilo mi je zabranjeno da diram ili jedem kornišone. Bilo mi je zabranjeno da sedim na kauču ili krevetu drugog člana porodice. Morala sam da perem posteljinu nakon svakog ciklusa, čak iako nije bilo fleka. Smatrana sam nečistom i bilo mi je zabranjeno da se molim ili diram značajne religijske objekte. Videćete znakove pored hramova koji brane ulazak devojkama i ženama sa menstruacijom.
Ironically, most of the time it is the older woman who imposes such restrictions on younger girls in a family. After all, they have grown up accepting such restrictions as norms. And in the absence of any intervention, it is the myth and misconception that propagate from generation to generation.
Ironično, većinom starije žene nameću ta ograničenja mlađim devojkama u porodici. Konačno, one su odrastale prihvatajući slična ograničenja kao normu. A u odsustvu bilo kakve intervencije, mitovi i zablude se prenose s kolena na koleno.
During my years of work in this field, I have even come across stories where girls have to eat and wash their dishes separately. They're not allowed to take baths during periods, and in some households they are even secluded from other family members. About 85 percent of girls and women in India would follow one or more restrictive customs on their periods every month. Can you imagine what this does to the self-esteem and self-confidence of a young girl? The psychological trauma that this inflicts, affecting her personality, her academic performance and every single aspect of growing up during her early formative years?
Tokom godina bavljenja ovom oblašću, čak sam nailazila na priče gde devojke moraju da jedu i peru svoje posuđe odvojeno. Zabranjeno im je da se kupaju tokom menstruacije, a u nekim domaćinstvima su čak odvojene od drugih članova porodice. Oko 85 procenata devojaka i žena u Indiji poštuje jedan ili više restriktivnih običaja tokom menstruacije svakog meseca. Možete li da zamislite kako se to odražava na samopoštovanje i samopouzdanje devojke? Psihološka trauma koju ovo uzrokuje utiče na njenu ličnost, njene akademske rezultate i svaki aspekat odrastanja tokom ranih formativnih godina?
I religiously followed all these restrictive customs for 13 years, until a discussion with my partner, Tuhin, changed my perception about menstruation forever. In 2009, Tuhin and I were pursuing our postgraduation in design. We fell in love with each other and I was at ease discussing periods with him. Tuhin knew little about periods.
Religiozno sam poštovala sve te restriktivne običaje 13 godina, sve dok mi razgovor s mojim partnerom, Tuhinom, nije zauvek promenio doživljaj menstruacije. Godine 2009, Tuhin i ja smo pohađali postdiplomske studije dizajna. Zaljubili smo se jedno u drugo i bez ustručavanja smo razgovarali o menstruaciji. Tuhin nije znao mnogo o menstruaciji.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
He was astonished to know that girls get painful cramps and we bleed every month.
Bio je iznenađen kad je saznao da devojke imaju bolne grčeve i da krvare svakog meseca.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Yeah. He was completely shocked to know about the restrictions that are imposed upon menstruating girls and women by their own families and their society. In order to help me with my cramps, he would go on the Internet and learn more about menstruation. When he shared his findings with me, I realized how little I knew about menstruation myself. And many of my beliefs actually turned out to be myths.
Da. Potpuno ga je zapanjilo saznanje o restrikcijama koje su nametnute devojkama i ženama s menstruacijom od strane njihovih porodica i društva. Kako bi mi pomogao kod grčeva, otišao bi na internet i učio bi više o menstruaciji. Kada je sa mnom podelio saznanja, shvatila sam koliko malo sam i sama znala o menstruaciji. A mnoga su se moja ubeđenja ispostavila kao mitovi.
That's when we wondered: if we, being so well educated, were so ill-informed about menstruation, there would be millions of girls out there who would be ill-informed, too. To study -- to understand the problem better, I undertook a year-long research to study the lack of awareness about menstruation and the root cause behind it.
Tada smo se zapitali: ako smo mi, koji smo dobro obrazovani, tako loše informisani o menstruaciji, mora da ima na milion devojaka koje su takođe loše informisane. Kako bismo izučavali - kako bismo bolje razumeli problem, obavila sam jednogodišnje istraživanje o nedostatku svesti o menstruaciji i glavnom razlogu iza toga.
While it is generally believed that menstrual unawareness and misconception is a rural phenomenon, during my research, I found that it is as much an urban phenomenon as well. And it exists with the educated urban class, also. While talking to many parents and teachers, I found that many of them actually wanted to educate girls about periods before they have started getting their menstrual cycle. And -- but they lacked the proper means themselves. And since it is a taboo, they feel inhibition and shameful in talking about it.
Dok se uopšteno smatra da su neznanje i zablude o menstruaciji ruralna pojava, tokom mog istraživanja otkrila sam da je to podjednako i urbana pojava. I postoji među obrazovanom urbanom klasom, takođe. Razgovarajući s mnogim roditeljima i nastavnicima, otkrila sam da mnogi od njih zapravo žele da poduče devojke o ciklusu pre nego što počnu da dobijaju menstruaciju. I - ali i sami nisu imali odgovarajuća sredstva. A kako je to tabu, snebivali su se i bilo ih je sramota da govore o tome.
Girls nowadays get their periods in classes six and seven, but our educational curriculum teaches girls about periods only in standard eight and nine. And since it is a taboo, teachers still skip the subject altogether.
Devojčice trenutno dobijaju ciklus u šestom i sedmom razredu, ali naš obrazovni plan obrazuje devojke o ciklusu tek u osmom i devetom razredu osnovne škole. A kako je to tabu, nastavnici i dalje potpuno preskaču tu temu.
So school does not teach girls about periods, parents don't talk about it. Where do the girls go? Two decades ago and now -- nothing has changed. I shared these finding with Tuhin and we wondered: What if we could create something that would help girls understand about menstruation on their own -- something that would help parents and teachers talk about periods comfortably to young girls?
Pa devojke ne uče u školi o ciklusu, roditelji ne razgovaraju o tome. Kome da se devojke obrate? Od pre dve decenije do sada - nije se promenilo bilo šta. Podelila sam ova saznanja s Tuhinom i zapitali smo se: šta ako bismo napravili nešto što bi pomoglo devojkama da same razumeju menstruaciju - nešto što bi pomoglo roditeljima i nastavnicima da govore devojkama bez ustručavanja o ciklusu?
During my research, I was collecting a lot of stories. These were stories of experiences of girls during their periods. These stories would make girls curious and interested in talking about menstruation in their close circle. That's what we wanted. We wanted something that would make the girls curious and drive them to learn about it. We wanted to use these stories to teach girls about periods.
Tokom istraživanja, sakupila sam mnogo priča. To su bile priče o iskustvima devojaka tokom menstruacije. Ove priče bi zaintrigirale i zainteresovale devojke da govore o menstruaciji unutar njihovih uskih krugova. To smo i želeli. Želeli smo nešto zbog čega bi devojke postale znatiželjne i što bi ih podstaklo da uče o tome. Želeli smo da iskoristimo te priče da podučavamo devojke o ciklusu.
So we decided to create a comic book, where the cartoon characters would enact these stories and educate girls about menstruation in a fun and engaging way. To represent girls in their different phases of puberty, we have three characters. Pinki, who has not gotten her period yet, Jiya who gets her period during the narrative of the book and Mira who has already been getting her period. There is a fourth character, Priya Didi. Through her, girls come to know about the various aspects of growing up and menstrual hygiene management.
Pa smo odlučili da napravimo strip, u kome bi crtani junaci otelotvorili te priče te bi tako obrazovali devojke o ciklusu na zabavan i angažovan način. Kako bismo predstavili devojke u različitim fazama puberteta, imamo tri lika. Pinki, koja još uvek nije dobila menstruaciju, Điju koja dobija prvu menstruaciju tokom radnje stripa i Miru, koja već neko vreme ima menstruaciju. Imamo i četvrtog lika, Priju Didi. Preko nje devojke doznaju o različitim aspektima odrastanja i o menstrualnoj higijeni.
While making the book, we took great care that none of the illustrations were objectionable in any way and that it is culturally sensitive. During our prototype testing, we found that the girls loved the book. They were keen on reading it and knowing more and more about periods on their own. Parents and teachers were comfortable in talking about periods to young girls using the book, and sometimes even boys were interested in reading it.
Sastavljajući knjigu, obratili smo pažnju da nijedna ilustracija ne bude dovedena u pitanje i da bude kulturološki osetljiva. Tokom prvog testiranja, otkrili smo da se devojkama sviđa knjiga. Rado su je čitale i sve više su samostalno saznavale o menstruaciji. Roditeljima i nastavnicima je bilo prijatno da govore o ciklusu devojkama uz pomoć knjige, a ponekad su čak i dečaci bili zainteresovani da je čitaju.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
The comic book helped in creating an environment where menstruation ceased to be a taboo. Many of the volunteers took this prototype themselves to educate girls and take menstrual awareness workshops in five different states in India. And one of the volunteers took this prototype to educate young monks and took it to this monastery in Ladakh.
Strip je pomogao u stvaranju ambijenta u kome menstruacija više nije bila tabu. Mnogi volonteri su uzeli prvi primerak da bi podučavali devojke i pokrenuli radionice svesti o ciklusu u pet različitih indijskih država. A jedan od volontera je uzeo prvi primerak da bi podučavao monahe i poneo ga je u ovaj manastir u Ladaku.
We made the final version of the book, called "Menstrupedia Comic" and launched in September last year. And so far, more than 4,000 girls have been educated by using the book in India and --
Sastavili smo konačnu verziju knjige pod nazivom "Strip menstrupedija" i objavili smo ga u septembru prošle godine. I do sad, preko 4,000 devojaka u Indiji je obrazovano zahvaljujući ovoj knjizi -
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
And 10 different countries. We are constantly translating the book into different languages and collaborating with local organizations to make this book available in different countries.
I u 10 različitih država. Stalno prevodimo knjigu na različite jezike i sarađujemo s lokalnim organizacijama kako bi knjiga bila dostupna u različitim zemljama.
15 schools in different parts of India have made this book a part of their school curriculum to teach girls about menstruation.
Petnaest škola u različitim delovima Indije je uvrstilo ovu knjigu u svoj školski plan rada kako bi učili devojke o menstruacji.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
I am amazed to see how volunteers, individuals, parents, teachers, school principals, have come together and taken this menstrual awareness drive to their own communities, have made sure that the girls learn about periods at the right age and helped in breaking this taboo.
Zadivljena sam kad vidim kako su volonteri, pojedinci, roditelji, nastavnici, direktori škola kako su se okupili i preneli su ovu potrebu za svešću o menstruaciji u svoje zajednice, postarali su se da devojke saznaju za menstruaciju u pravom uzrastu i pomogli su u uništavanju tabua.
I dream of a future where menstruation is not a curse, not a disease, but a welcoming change in a girl's life. And I would --
Sanjam o budućnosti u kojoj menstruacija nije prokletstvo, nije bolest, već dobrodošla promena u životu devojke. I želela bih -
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
And I would like to end this with a small request to all the parents here.
I želela bih da završim malom molbom za sve roditelje ovde.
Dear parents, if you would be ashamed of periods, your daughters would be, too. So please be period positive.
Dragi roditelji, ako je vas sramota menstruacije, i vaše će kćerke biti sramota. Stoga, molim vas, budite menstrualno pozitivni.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)