Shamed for Being a Woman

I was 13 when I got my first period. Instead of celebrating this natural part of growing up, I was met with shame, whispers, and restrictions. My mother hurriedly pulled me aside, gave me an old cloth, and warned me not to talk about it. “Don’t touch the kitchen,” she said. “Stay away from the prayer room.” I didn’t understand why something happening inside my own body made me impure.

At school, it was worse. We were never taught about menstruation properly. When I stained my uniform once, the boys laughed, and the girls looked away. I wanted to disappear. I stopped going to school during my periods because I had no proper pads—just a piece of cloth that never felt safe. Every month, I suffered in silence, afraid of leaking, afraid of being humiliated.

Buying sanitary pads was another challenge. In our village, the shopkeeper would wrap them in layers of newspaper and hand them over as if I had asked for something shameful. Sometimes, I couldn’t afford them at all. Hygiene took a backseat to survival, and infections became a part of my life. But who could I tell? Menstruation was never talked about—only whispered behind closed doors.

One day, I met a group of women spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene. They taught me that periods were natural, not something to be ashamed of. They connected me to an organization that provided affordable, reusable pads and educated girls about their bodies. For the first time, I felt empowered. I realized that the real problem wasn’t my period—it was society’s mindset.

Menstrual stigma holds women back. It forces girls to drop out of school, makes them feel unclean, and denies them the dignity they deserve. The lack of access to hygiene products is not just an inconvenience—it’s a health crisis. Change begins with education, affordability, and open conversations.

I see the shame in my community, Periods are not a curse—they are a sign of strength. But no one is accepting and  I am not allowed to accept that.