First, I would like to apologize to S* who when I was younger I always broke up with around my period. Sorry bro.
Back then, I did not properly understand the emotional vortex that is the period. There is the pain, excruciating for some, mild for others – one pain killer will do – and none existent for some lucky, lucky angels. Reduced energy, you get hotter, your sleep pattern is disrupted, your appetite suffers, you might get constipated or the opposite, your skin might take a hit or become clearer. But all those pale in comparison with the emotions. You will get impatient, you will cry more easily, you will break up with someone who just said “Where are you?” and it is no wonder; your body is doing a lot.
Imagine a life where on any given day your body is regulating hormones so that if you choose, you can procreate that month. This is what a lot of women go through for some good 40 years of their lives.
Add to that what you have to deal with; work, life, broken systems and the peak of your menstrual cycle can brew a recipe for short tempers and having no time to deal. As a result, women have been said to be more efficient leaders – we have to juggle and parcel everything all on a cocktail of hormones. There is just no time to waste! Whereas one person might want to discuss the plan for hours, a woman might want to get to the point quickly so that she can move on to the other things that need to be done. There is no time to waste!
The period is a lot. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t function (if we are lucky) or that, as one gentleman told me, our already low decision making ‘due to the estrogen’ falls away even further. It just means that at certain times in the cycle, the juggling is really more like walking a tight rope, above a ring of fire with some wild animals jammed into that ring.
Keeping menstruation as a thing of shame, something to be laughed at is silly… as at 2020, the global ratio of men to women was 100:101. Doesn’t it seem ridiculous that despite the fact that we know that a large part of the population will or is menstruating, we still aren’t giving the period its due regard? I mean, can we clarify once and for all if we are taxing pads and menstrual hygiene products in Uganda? Why are we making it harder for young girls and women to access the safety nets that can make this rollercoaster a little more comfortable?
The period is not to be feared, it’s not dirty, and it’s not a secret. It rather needs to be understood, by all of us.
Happy menstrual hygiene day, happy bleeding.
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