These have led to societal taboos, stigma, and shame around menstruation, including the belief that menstrual blood and menstruating women themselves are impure, which is common in several societies.

It was a fine night but the next morning was unusual. It was the day when I woke up with blood and stain. I had got my first period. Although I knew that period was a thing with girls of my age, I did not know what exactly it was. Assuming it to be some sort of injury I carried on with my daily schedule and left for school. It was only during my break that I got to know I had got my first period when my mom came to my school to pick me up unexpectedly. She figured it out from the stain on my clothes from previous night. Even though I knew about periods it felt like a shock when it actually happened to me. One of the reasons for embracement was the festival like celebration which was apparently a ritual in my community, where in all the ladies from the family showed up with sweets and gifts to shower their blessings on me.

Today we can talk normally on this topic but unfortunately there are many girls in remote areas of the country who don’t understand and aren’t even taught about what are periods, how natural they are and how to effectively deal with them. We as a society need to spread awareness among not only the young girls but every individual irrespective of gender. So that the barrier in communication regarding this topic gets eliminated and no girl ever has to face problems because of periods.”

Such traditions and customs truly highlight how important menstruation in a woman’s life is, and how it should be cherished and celebrated and not seen as dirty or unclean. It’s our turn to celebrate the first period of our daughters, sisters, friends and any girl out there who is made to feel bad about her periods.

After the first period, going to school is always dreadful. Especially in the bright white PT uniform! None of those enthusiastic female leads from Sanitary Napkin advertisements prepare girls to be less anxious about staining.

In regular scenario a woman’s body releases one egg from the ovary somewhere around the 15th day of menstruation. However, in case the female suffers from PCOS, the egg gets trapped inside the ovary and fluid accumulates around it, which later forms bubble-like structures called a cyst. Over the course of time many such cysts may form, which could eliminate the woman’s ability to reproduce.

The symptoms of PCOS are often neglected and not too evident till the girl’s menstrual cycle becomes Irregular and ultimately stops completely. Most girls get diagnosed only after they’ve skipped their period altogether for months at a stretch. that they realize that there could be a problem.

The symptoms could be more than one and not necessarily visible and noticeable at the beginning. Some of the more prominent and well documented symptoms are irregular menstruation cycle, acne, weight gain, unwanted hair growth on parts of the body which previously did not grow hair, excessive hair loss from the scalp and a blackish appearance on the neck.

PCOS is called a lifestyle disorder because it may be caused due to the girl’s daily routine and emotional wellbeing. The most common cause identified is unhealthy eating of junk food with higher Glycemic Index Number (GI number). GI number is the rate at which the body converts food into glucose. In addition to the food intake, lack of daily exercise and physical activity and high stress levels could be an additional cause. In many cases lack of sleep along with the afore mentioned causes may lead to PCOS.

Family tendencies should also be closely monitored. In case a woman from the family is suffering from PCOS there is a higher tendency that her sister, daughter or relative could also develop PCOS mainly due to similar lifestyle habits.

Many medical professionals have stated that the easiest way to reverse the cycle of PCOS is –

1. To get at least an hours’ worth of exercise in a day

2. A diet that is rich in proteins and cuts down on sugars and carbohydrates.

3. Minimum of eight-hours of sleep every night is also essential in maintaining a healthy body, especially in the long run.

Some key challenges included in the Advocacy Brief of MHIA’s report were the following:

1. Continuing taboos and restrictions related to menstruation.

2. Limited access to sanitary pads.

3. Limited access to social support.

4. Restricted access to sanitation facilities.

5. Anxiety and stress over how to manage menstruation.

6. Disrupted manufacturing of menstrual hygiene products.

7. Broken supply chains for menstrual hygiene products.

As the decision to allow production of essentials was made it was unclear to many how affordable pads would be made available to girls. This pandemic has further worsened the ‘PeriodPoverty’ not just in India but across the world. Periods don’t stop during the pandemic, and thus menstrual products are as essential to all women as food is to all humans.

While women across were suffering during the lockdown quietly, the women who became victims of COVID-19 directly, had even bigger problems to deal with.