The Period Society
Faking stomach aches in front of teachers during period cramps or hiding our pads in our pockets as though it was something illegal.
"I vividly remember being petrified after volunteering as a writer for the ICSE board exams in the 9th grade because I just started my periods at the beginning of a 3 hour paper. By the time the extended time for the senior I was writing for had elapsed, there was a humongous crimson blotch on my uniform. I made a run for the nurse’s office with the side of my pinafore balled in my hand and as I raced down the steps I was painfully conscious as to whether someone would begin giggling the minute they saw the stains on my uniform. Faking stomach aches in front of teachers during period cramps or hiding our pads in our pockets as though it was something illegal when we walked down the corridor to the bathrooms is a memory that I share in common with a lot of my friends.
I saw Ms. Daniel explain the menstrual cycle in my 10th grade biology class and understood that I would shed the lining of my endometrium once a month but at the same time was frustrated when at home my parents who were medical professionals would ask me to refrain from worshipping on my periods, tell me not to touch the pickle jar, or ask me stay home when they went for any sort of celebration because my periods made me “impure.” Gradually the conflict between what I knew and what I was told about this normal biological process in my body grew to the extent that I stepped out of my comfort zone in every way - speaking about periods without flinching in people of all genders, overcoming my fear of public speaking to deliver menstrual health education sessions to audiences of 400, and at the age of 16, taking a huge leap of faith to begin The Period Society
There were tons of rejections, people not taking me seriously on account of my age, people dismissing or vehemently opposing my cause, and working with a small team of 5 teens who googled “how to run a non profit” at the beginning of 2018. Over a year later, keeping in mind ‘Perseverantia et fide in Deo’ (Perseverance and Faith in God) we’ve persevered against all odds to serve over 100,000 periods, engage thousands of menstruators across India with our educational content, and have chapters nationwide to #putaperiodtothestigma .”