Menstruation can sometimes be a real burden for women. This is especially true for women in India, where periods are still a big taboo today. This is exactly what the award-winning documentary "Stigma Menstruation", produced in 2018, is about. Find out more about its content and what moved us about it below.
Menstruating women in India
You've probably been uncomfortable with your menstruation at one time or another. You've probably secretly cursed it many times and wished that the annoying menstrual bleeding and all the discomfort that goes with it would just go away. Believe us when we tell you that we can understand you very well.
However, we actually don't have it so bad in this respect in this country. This is at least true if we compare our situation with that of menstruating women in India. There, menstruation is still a taboo subject.
Women in India are considered dirty and impure when they have their period. They are excluded from temples. It is not uncommon for young women to even drop out of school prematurely, which inevitably has negative consequences for their entire lives.
Menstrual products are not a matter of course
As a woman in Europe, you not only have easy access to hygiene products for your menstrual period. You can even choose between different solutions to protect yourself during your period.
For example, you can use tampons or sanitary pads. If you prefer a reusable product, you can choose from period pants and menstrual cups.
In India, however, things are very different. Many women there do not even know what sanitary pads are. Products like menstrual underwear are not even thought of. Often, out of necessity, they simply use old cloth rags. Of course, this is extremely unhygienic and can quickly become a serious risk to women's health.
Stigma Menstruation: What is the documentary about?
Stigma Menstruation is a short documentary from 2018. The original title of the 26-minute documentary is "Period. End of Sentence."
As mentioned earlier, the documentary is about Indian women and the problems they face due to their menstruation. It also shows how a group of women in India make cheap sanitary pads and make them available to other women at low cost.
This can help to overcome the existing taboo regarding menstruation in India and improve the lives of countless women on the Indian subcontinent.
Deserved Oscar win for stigma of menstruation
In 2019, the documentary, which gained popularity thanks to Netflix, was nominated for and managed to win the Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category. We think the Oscar win was absolutely deserved.
After all, Stigma Menstruation is not only very moving. The documentary also makes an important contribution to pointing out abuses in the lives of millions of women.
Stigma Menstruation: our conclusion
As you can see, we take perfectly normal things for granted in other countries. In India, for example, menstruating women have a particularly hard time. There, even simple hygiene articles are often lacking and women have to feel like outcasts when they have their period.
The documentary "Stigma Menstruation" shows very well the challenges Indian women have to face. At the same time, it also gives hope that something is slowly but surely changing in this huge country. We can only recommend you to have a look at it. Maybe it will help you a bit when you are frustrated about your period again.
