By Jyoti Singh | Project Head
“I almost used to miss 45 – 48 days in a year just because of my period cramps and uncomfort. Although, I often skipped at least three days every month and some times more than three days were not enough to manage it. That directly impacted on my poor learning & performance in the classroom and I didn’t secure good scores in the final examination. I was in the 8th standard at that time. I lost all of my hope and confidence after saw the exam result.
I felt like periods are a curse for me. Because of that, I didn’t concentrate on my studies. I felt guilty on myself to be a menstruating girl that bleeds every month and doesn’t know why? I felt shame and hesitation to discuss my period issues even with my elder sister who had been menstruating for the last four years. I felt alone and devastated. There were lots of queries that I wanted to discuss with someone but my shame was restricted me for not telling with anyone. However, my mother told me that periods are dirty and there is no need to discuss it with anyone because people may laugh on you and consider you as a shameless girl. So please be silent on that issue”.
A girl named Rakhi (name changed) has come up with her story of shame towards menstruation. She is not the only girl in India who feels guilty once she starts menstruating. Too many girls cannot access the right knowledge & information on menstruation and they turn to become helpless and lose their confidence to cope up with the current situations.
The project Smiley Days are helping such girls to access them the right information at the right time on menstruation and related issues. Many girls like Rakhi attend regular awareness sessions on MHM and reproductive health in their schools as well as their communities on a regular interval.
Thanks to all for your generous support & love for this project that really changing the lives of many girls in India!
Regards,
Team IDF
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.