National Girl Child Day is observed on the 24th of January every year. It was initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Indian Government to promote and spread awareness about the rights of a girl child and the importance of her education, health, and nutrition. Every girl deserves the right to be educated about how their bodies function and internalize the truth and embrace it, to not feel ashamed of it and feel free to accomplish anything she sets her mind to. Every woman’s shared struggles are the substance of social inequity and lack of awareness. No girl should be marginalized due to her physical constraints and background. So, in these trying times, our generation is trying every pursuit to not let myths and false information cloud our judgment when it comes to identifying an individual of true potential.
On that note, Enactus KISS-KIIT, an outreach programme of KSAC, undertook a social-media campaign #mypadmystory, which is an empowering movement to de-stigmatize menstruation and delineate all the taboos associated with it which are socially abhorrent. With the sole belief that every boy and girl should be made aware of all the right information when it comes to menstruation, this campaign attempted to bridge the gap for a safer future, where no girl feels unsafe or disgusted by something as normal as getting their periods. Following this suit, on 23rd January 2022, the Enactus team organized a virtual meeting with an extremely fun pop quiz targeted mainly towards the non-menstruating audience to test their knowledge about periods.
Topics covered included what causes period cramps? How long do they last? Types of products are used? What are the health issues related to periods? How long do they typically last, and many more. A lot of perspectives were put forth and discussed at length, and several misconceptions were cleared. In one segment of the same event, boys took the onus to come forward and speak about how they got to know about the entire aspect of menstruation, and what parts of the menstruating culture prevalent in India need to change.
With #mypadmystory, the Enactus team is trying to deconstruct a steep mountain of false information and misguided socio-religious controversies regarding menstruation that have accumulated over the years and to rebuild the system with proper scientific reasoning and truth. Although the goal is colossal and the path is riddled with obstacles, the team is spirited to will take every step possible to ensure the success of the campaign. Dr. Shyam Sundar Behura, Dy. Director, SS congratulated Team Enactus KISS-KIIT for the initiative.