My first Period : The onset of my womanhood

There are a handful of dates that we remember for the rest of our lives and the day we got our period is one of them. From locking ourselves in a toilet to using tampon traumas (we’ve all been there), period parties and Snickers bars, we have dealt with the discovery and adjusted to the change. So here is my menstruation tale.

In 2010, I was 13. I was in school. My first class got over and I went to the washroom. While I was coming back to the class, I saw a deep, brown, gunky-gross stain on my skirt seemed to glare at me and say yes this it, you have become a woman now. Though I didn’t feel like a woman. The first thing I did was to cry as I got panicked. The worst thing that could happen, I was wearing a white skirt that day and there was a stain clearly visible and I had to attend other classes, as it was just the start of the day. I was embarrassed to go to class and face everyone. Also, I had a vague idea about what periods are. My mom told me about it when I was a little younger and I stayed in a hostel for a year so I had some idea from senior girls but you obviously can’t manage on your own as you are so naive and unaware of what to do next. But I had to buck up and handle that situation. So I somehow managed to go to medical room and discuss with the teacher and got a pad. It was paining badly. It felt like something is being pressed so hard on my abdomen. I had a very weird feeling. But somehow managed to get back to class and pass the day. I couldn’t wait go back to home and tell my mom about it.

 Although my mom told me about it but I think it’s a major problem in our society that some girls don’t even have an idea of what menstruation is and they suffer because of lack of knowledge. Our parents don’t talk to us about it because of the norms that are going since long time. We need to normalise talking about periods to break the taboo so that the next generation don’t suffer. I really feel it should be mandatory that parents talk to their child about what periods are and what is the process that follows when she hits puberty so that she doesn’t suffer on the day she becomes a ‘woman.’