By Anik Wijayaratne

It was one of those days in class, where we pretended to be writing notes and following the lesson but that was all a sham, we were playing a highly organised and covert game of hand cricket, just wasting the day away. It was, however, right before the interval when we had the health science class, again, to us just another lesson to waste away. That was not to be. Our teacher almost immediately upon arrival sussed out our true objective for the day. Her temper and her tone rose and so did our amusement. It was only after the threat of a roster form that we attempted to settle down. She informed us that the lesson for that day was unnecessary, and if it were up to her, it wouldn’t be in the syllabus.

Moments later the reproductive system was brought up in a loathsome and inpatient tone. It was at this moment that we actually settled down, our curiosity peaked. Unfortunately, it was a forlorn monologue we were provided with, to which, I can assure you, no one paid attention. This was how we were introduced to human reproductive organs and menstruation. After an interminable period of her droning on and on, and us zoning in, whenever the word ‘Penis’ or ‘vagina’ were mentioned, the droning ended. Menstruation was not explained in a way we could comprehend. Yes, no one was truly paying attention, yet when we were asked suddenly, and at random, what menstruation meant, we did our best to tune back into the lesson. I remember my friends and classmates looking at one another, chattering; most memorably ‘ado it has men in it must be to do with us, noh?’. This was the key sentiment. When monthly bleeding, pads and cramp were discussed, our faces showed shades of disgust, disbelief, and horror. Our eyes were on the clock, hoping like never before that 11.15 would arrive sooner than later. The subsequent chaotic clinging-clanging of the bell brought an end to our almost hostage like situation. The clinging-clanging bell marked the end of lessons for the rest of the year. Yes, this was the last lesson for the term. She could put it off no longer. This was our first introduction to the “period” – the term that makes most men shut up. Even though I went to a leading private school in the country, within classrooms talking about menstruation was excruciatingly uncomfortable. Taboo.

It actually caught me by surprise when I was told by friends, quite recently, that when they got their first period, that they would be sent to their room for a day or so and could not see or be in contact with any male during this time, their fathers included. I assumed things in Colombo would be different to stories we hear of how menstruation is handled in the village, but I’m learning there is very little difference as seen with the example of protecting the girl from the male gaze. There are also period parties. The girl is showered with gifts that signify that she is now ready to reproduce.

We spoke more and discussed the reasoning behind these practices with my friends and I reached the conclusion that these are family traditions and practices that are passed down from mother to daughter. To them these are things that they’re parents shared with them and that was all it was. We also realised that evil spirits [bhootayas] may invade the body and cause harm if the girl isn’t hurried and hidden away, and our all-time favourite was that if menstruating women aren’t hidden away fast enough a cosmic cataclysm may occur. All this is evidence of the lack of scientific education within our school system. And so, we live in a society that values the passing down of dramatic stories instead. Beliefs that are blindly followed with little thought as to why.

I vividly remember getting blasted in class, “this child eating and sleeping, its like a picnic for you. neh?” And “Apo that woman must be on her period”, was our reasoning behind why our teacher would yell at me. In truth, all I ever did was eat and sleep in class. And now, whenever a friend would have trouble with his girlfriend, we would say things like “try talking to her in a week she’s probably on her period.” Punctuated by “very hormonal machang”. The idea that we blame everything a woman or girl does on her period is embedded now in our psyche – our humour, our jokes, our memes…

The persistent issue we face is that our education system does not currently work. It does not help us learn about the period. Change cannot and will not occur if we do not understand this simple and basic biological process. The current taxing of period products, the prevailing period poverty where some women and girls in our country rely on unsanitary methods which can lead to reproductive tract infections – all these are intrinsically linked and show that we need to break the stigma and superstition. For this we need education that works. Education that informs.

Ignorance isn’t an epidemic; it is a pandemic that plagues our species. Yet, it is encouraging that many of my generation do speak up. And we must, in order to undo these negative stereotypes and harmful narratives by being more willing to have an open conversation and spread awareness. If only the education system agreed, and prepared our teachers to teach without embarrassment and shame.