Mural with a message: Guwahati celebrates Menstrual Hygiene Day

Guwahati: World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated on May 28. It was initiated by a German organisation in 2013 and subsequently spread to the rest of the world. The day aimed at breaking the silence on the supposed taboo subject of menstruation and menstrual hygiene.

Guwahati installed several murals across the city to celebrate menstrual hygiene day. The “Bleed with dignity” mural was painted with a hashtag of the same, reported NDTV. The mural is blood red in colour and has small white flowers on it. It also featured a woman’s figure painted on it.

This mural was the brainchild of a post-graduate student Bidisha Saikia who started the #BleedWithDignity campaign to make quality menstrual healthcare accessible to every girl. A school, Parijat Academy, collaborated with Bidisha to install the mural on one of their walls. Debeswar Malakar, Guwahati municipal corporation commissioner said, “Many girls in Assam still feel shy to ask for a sanitary pad. So, if pads are made available in schools through vending machines, it becomes easy for girls to access it. It also helps break the stigma around menstruation."

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Malakar said that it would be beneficial to have pads and tampon vending machines installed in public washrooms as well as other public places such as bus stands and railway stations. Bidisha has been running that campaign for all government schools in the state as well.

“I find the silence surrounding the taboo subject of menstruation odd and ironic in a land like Assam," said the post graduate student. "My state has a culture of worshipping menstruating goddesses,” she said, talking of the Goddess Kamakhya. “Some communities even celebrate a girl's first period. Through my campaign, I want to end this silence and make quality menstrual healthcare accessible to every girl in my state," she added.