Awareness first for the first lady

The first lady of Maharashtra, Amruta Fadnavis on many occasions has been vocal about her concerns surrounding menstruation, so much so that she also voiced her displeasure against the 12 per cent GST on sanitary napkins. She feels that any form of awareness around the topic using print, movies, radio or advertisements is essential to break the myth around the topic. “ There are so many misconceptions surrounding it and it is just so futile. Menstruation is what gives birth to humanity and it is still treated as a taboo. Women are not allowed to touch a child, enter the temple or touch pickles. Why? A modern woman is a multitasker and why should the four days of her life hinder her existence just because she has her menstrual cycle on?” she asks.

Ladies too shy away from it. “Even women for that matter use words like ‘problem chalu hai,’ ‘those days are on,’ or other euphemisms. No one is willing to talk about it openly because of the taboos surrounding it,” she adds.

In the light of Phullu being certified with an adult certificate she says, “I haven’t seen the film, so I don’t know why have they certified it, I’m sure there is more to it than just the topic. But menstruation itself is not an adult topic and shouldn’t be treated so.”

Any form of awareness surrounding it shouldn’t be a taboo, she says. “Menstruation is a natural phenomena in a woman’s lifecycle and it is all about celebrating womanhood. Society should accept it and let their women accept it as well. Our daughters are growing up and have no idea about menstruation because it is not scientifically explained. Everyone, including boys from the age of six to seven years, should know about menstruation. My daughter knows about it too,” she concludes.