0:00:00.520,0:00:02.096
Periods.

0:00:02.120,0:00:03.496
Blood.

0:00:03.520,0:00:04.720
Menstruation.

0:00:05.440,0:00:07.016
Gross.

0:00:07.040,0:00:08.656
Secret.

0:00:08.680,0:00:09.880
Hidden.

0:00:10.400,0:00:11.600
Why?

0:00:12.760,0:00:14.656
A natural biological process

0:00:14.680,0:00:18.496
that every girl and woman[br]goes through every month

0:00:18.520,0:00:20.696
for about half of her life.

0:00:20.720,0:00:23.416
A phenomenon that is so significant

0:00:23.440,0:00:27.640
that the survival and propagation[br]of our species depends on it.

0:00:28.480,0:00:30.320
Yet we consider it a taboo.

0:00:31.160,0:00:34.040
We feel awkward[br]and shameful talking about it.

0:00:35.840,0:00:37.656
When I got my first periods,

0:00:37.680,0:00:40.040
I was told to keep it[br]a secret from others --

0:00:40.760,0:00:42.640
even from my father and brother.

0:00:43.640,0:00:46.256
Later when this chapter[br]appeared in our textbooks,

0:00:46.280,0:00:48.616
our biology teacher skipped the subject.

0:00:48.640,0:00:51.320
(Laughter)

0:00:52.000,0:00:53.680
You know what I learned from it?

0:00:54.360,0:00:57.520
I learned that it is really[br]shameful to talk about it.

0:00:58.080,0:01:00.736
I learned to be ashamed of my body.

0:01:00.760,0:01:03.816
I learned to stay unaware of periods

0:01:03.840,0:01:05.800
in order to stay decent.

0:01:06.440,0:01:08.256
Research in various parts of India

0:01:08.280,0:01:13.016
shows that three out of every 10 girls[br]are not aware of menstruation

0:01:13.040,0:01:14.800
at the time of their first periods.

0:01:15.400,0:01:17.016
And in some parts of Rajasthan

0:01:17.040,0:01:21.880
this number is as high as nine[br]out of 10 girls being unaware of it.

0:01:22.800,0:01:24.456
You'd be surprised to know

0:01:24.480,0:01:26.696
that most of the girls[br]that I have spoken to,

0:01:26.720,0:01:30.536
who did not know about periods[br]at the time of their first menstruation

0:01:30.560,0:01:32.936
thought that they have got blood cancer

0:01:32.960,0:01:34.560
and they're going to die soon.

0:01:36.760,0:01:39.696
Menstrual hygiene[br]is a very important risk factor

0:01:39.720,0:01:42.280
for reproductive tract infections.

0:01:43.040,0:01:46.216
But in India, only 12 percent[br]of girls and women

0:01:46.240,0:01:50.000
have access to hygienic ways[br]of managing their periods.

0:01:50.840,0:01:52.336
If you do the math,

0:01:52.360,0:01:57.456
88 percent of girls and women use[br]unhygienic ways to manage their periods.

0:01:57.480,0:01:58.680
I was one of them.

0:01:59.880,0:02:02.816
I grew up in a small town[br]called Garhwa, in Jharkhand,

0:02:02.840,0:02:05.960
where even buying a sanitary napkin[br]is considered shameful.

0:02:06.840,0:02:08.895
So when I started getting my periods,

0:02:08.919,0:02:10.680
I began with using rags.

0:02:12.560,0:02:15.216
After every use[br]I would wash and reuse them.

0:02:15.240,0:02:16.496
But to store them,

0:02:16.520,0:02:19.136
I would hide and keep it[br]in a dark, damp place

0:02:19.160,0:02:21.760
so that nobody finds out[br]that I'm menstruating.

0:02:22.520,0:02:25.136
Due to repeated washing[br]the rags would become coarse,

0:02:25.160,0:02:28.160
and I would often get rashes[br]and infections using them.

0:02:28.880,0:02:33.160
I wore these already for five years[br]until I moved out of that town.

0:02:35.640,0:02:37.976
Another issue[br]that periods brought in my life

0:02:38.000,0:02:40.296
those of the social restrictions

0:02:40.320,0:02:44.656
that are imposed upon our girls[br]and women when they're on their periods.

0:02:44.680,0:02:46.976
I think you all must be aware of it,

0:02:47.000,0:02:49.960
but I'll still list it[br]for the few who don't.

0:02:50.720,0:02:53.200
I was not allowed to touch or eat pickles.

0:02:53.840,0:02:58.696
I was not allowed to sit on the sofa[br]or some other family member's bed.

0:02:58.720,0:03:01.176
I had to wash my bed sheet[br]after every period,

0:03:01.200,0:03:03.136
even if it was not stained.

0:03:03.160,0:03:04.976
I was considered impure

0:03:05.000,0:03:09.800
and forbidden from worshipping or touching[br]any object of religious importance.

0:03:10.880,0:03:13.096
You'll find signposts outside temples

0:03:13.120,0:03:15.560
denying the entry[br]of menstruating girls and women.

0:03:17.080,0:03:18.456
Ironically,

0:03:18.480,0:03:21.296
most of the time it is the older woman

0:03:21.320,0:03:25.760
who imposes such restrictions[br]on younger girls in a family.

0:03:26.360,0:03:30.536
After all, they have grown up[br]accepting such restrictions as norms.

0:03:30.560,0:03:33.576
And in the absence of any intervention,

0:03:33.600,0:03:35.616
it is the myth and misconception

0:03:35.640,0:03:38.240
that propagate[br]from generation to generation.

0:03:39.240,0:03:41.096
During my years of work in this field,

0:03:41.120,0:03:42.616
I have even come across stories

0:03:42.640,0:03:46.256
where girls have to eat[br]and wash their dishes separately.

0:03:46.280,0:03:48.616
They're not allowed[br]to take baths during periods,

0:03:48.640,0:03:52.720
and in some households they are even[br]secluded from other family members.

0:03:53.720,0:03:57.256
About 85 percent of girls[br]and women in India

0:03:57.280,0:04:02.600
would follow one or more restrictive[br]customs on their periods every month.

0:04:03.320,0:04:04.856
Can you imagine what this does

0:04:04.880,0:04:07.840
to the self-esteem[br]and self-confidence of a young girl?

0:04:08.720,0:04:11.456
The psychological trauma[br]that this inflicts,

0:04:11.480,0:04:14.056
affecting her personality,

0:04:14.080,0:04:15.816
her academic performance

0:04:15.840,0:04:20.480
and every single aspect of growing up[br]during her early formative years?

0:04:21.760,0:04:25.800
I religiously followed all these[br]restrictive customs for 13 years,

0:04:26.400,0:04:28.776
until a discussion with my partner, Tuhin,

0:04:28.800,0:04:31.360
changed my perception[br]about menstruation forever.

0:04:32.280,0:04:37.736
In 2009, Tuhin and I were pursuing[br]our postgraduation in design.

0:04:37.760,0:04:39.416
We fell in love with each other

0:04:39.440,0:04:41.880
and I was at ease[br]discussing periods with him.

0:04:42.640,0:04:44.560
Tuhin knew little about periods.

0:04:45.520,0:04:47.800
(Laughter)

0:04:51.800,0:04:55.416
He was astonished to know[br]that girls get painful cramps

0:04:55.440,0:04:56.856
and we bleed every month.

0:04:56.880,0:04:58.976
(Laughter)

0:04:59.000,0:05:00.496
Yeah.

0:05:00.520,0:05:02.296
He was completely shocked to know

0:05:02.320,0:05:07.496
about the restrictions that are imposed[br]upon menstruating girls and women

0:05:07.520,0:05:10.096
by their own families and their society.

0:05:10.120,0:05:12.176
In order to help me with my cramps,

0:05:12.200,0:05:16.000
he would go on the Internet[br]and learn more about menstruation.

0:05:16.600,0:05:18.336
When he shared his findings with me,

0:05:18.360,0:05:21.360
I realized how little I knew[br]about menstruation myself.

0:05:21.960,0:05:25.080
And many of my beliefs[br]actually turned out to be myths.

0:05:26.360,0:05:27.896
That's when we wondered:

0:05:27.920,0:05:30.256
if we, being so well educated,

0:05:30.280,0:05:32.376
were so ill-informed about menstruation,

0:05:32.400,0:05:36.400
there would be millions of girls out there[br]who would be ill-informed, too.

0:05:37.760,0:05:38.976
To study --

0:05:39.000,0:05:40.776
to understand the problem better,

0:05:40.800,0:05:45.416
I undertook a year-long research to study[br]the lack of awareness about menstruation

0:05:45.440,0:05:47.040
and the root cause behind it.

0:05:47.960,0:05:49.696
While it is generally believed

0:05:49.720,0:05:55.696
that menstrual unawareness[br]and misconception is a rural phenomenon,

0:05:55.720,0:05:56.936
during my research,

0:05:56.960,0:05:59.936
I found that it is as much[br]an urban phenomenon as well.

0:05:59.960,0:06:04.320
And it exists with the educated[br]urban class, also.

0:06:05.280,0:06:07.776
While talking to many[br]parents and teachers,

0:06:07.800,0:06:13.096
I found that many of them actually[br]wanted to educate girls about periods

0:06:13.120,0:06:15.760
before they have started[br]getting their menstrual cycle.

0:06:16.840,0:06:18.056
And --

0:06:18.080,0:06:21.616
but they lacked[br]the proper means themselves.

0:06:21.640,0:06:22.896
And since it is a taboo,

0:06:22.920,0:06:25.960
they feel inhibition[br]and shameful in talking about it.

0:06:26.840,0:06:31.456
Girls nowadays get their periods[br]in classes six and seven,

0:06:31.480,0:06:33.096
but our educational curriculum

0:06:33.120,0:06:36.920
teaches girls about periods[br]only in standard eight and nine.

0:06:37.800,0:06:39.360
And since it is a taboo,

0:06:40.000,0:06:43.440
teachers still[br]skip the subject altogether.

0:06:44.840,0:06:49.096
So school does not[br]teach girls about periods,

0:06:49.120,0:06:51.256
parents don't talk about it.

0:06:51.280,0:06:52.680
Where do the girls go?

0:06:53.680,0:06:56.520
Two decades ago and now --

0:06:57.120,0:06:58.400
nothing has changed.

0:07:00.120,0:07:02.940
I shared these finding with Tuhin[br]and we wondered:

0:07:02.960,0:07:04.576
What if we could create something

0:07:04.600,0:07:09.176
that would help girls understand[br]about menstruation on their own --

0:07:09.200,0:07:13.416
something that would help[br]parents and teachers

0:07:13.440,0:07:16.360
talk about periods[br]comfortably to young girls?

0:07:17.840,0:07:19.456
During my research,

0:07:19.480,0:07:21.456
I was collecting a lot of stories.

0:07:21.480,0:07:26.160
These were stories of experiences[br]of girls during their periods.

0:07:26.800,0:07:30.056
These stories would make girls[br]curious and interested

0:07:30.080,0:07:34.016
in talking about menstruation[br]in their close circle.

0:07:34.040,0:07:35.496
That's what we wanted.

0:07:35.520,0:07:38.856
We wanted something[br]that would make the girls curious

0:07:38.880,0:07:41.056
and drive them to learn about it.

0:07:41.080,0:07:44.240
We wanted to use these stories[br]to teach girls about periods.

0:07:45.360,0:07:48.456
So we decided to create a comic book,

0:07:48.480,0:07:51.736
where the cartoon characters[br]would enact these stories

0:07:51.760,0:07:55.640
and educate girls about menstruation[br]in a fun and engaging way.

0:07:56.360,0:07:59.376
To represent girls[br]in their different phases of puberty,

0:07:59.400,0:08:01.040
we have three characters.

0:08:01.560,0:08:04.736
Pinki, who has not gotten her period yet,

0:08:04.760,0:08:08.256
Jiya who gets her period[br]during the narrative of the book

0:08:08.280,0:08:11.536
and Mira who has already[br]been getting her period.

0:08:11.560,0:08:13.976
There is a fourth character, Priya Didi.

0:08:14.000,0:08:17.536
Through her, girls come to know[br]about the various aspects of growing up

0:08:17.560,0:08:19.360
and menstrual hygiene management.

0:08:20.455,0:08:22.398
While making the book, we took great care

0:08:22.423,0:08:26.376
that none of the illustrations[br]were objectionable in any way

0:08:26.400,0:08:28.360
and that it is culturally sensitive.

0:08:29.200,0:08:33.056
During our prototype testing,[br]we found that the girls loved the book.

0:08:33.080,0:08:34.456
They were keen on reading it

0:08:34.480,0:08:37.240
and knowing more and more[br]about periods on their own.

0:08:38.039,0:08:41.056
Parents and teachers were[br]comfortable in talking about periods

0:08:41.080,0:08:42.775
to young girls using the book,

0:08:42.799,0:08:45.776
and sometimes even boys[br]were interested in reading it.

0:08:45.800,0:08:47.936
(Laughter)

0:08:47.960,0:08:49.720
(Applause)

0:08:51.840,0:08:55.656
The comic book helped[br]in creating an environment

0:08:55.680,0:08:58.120
where menstruation ceased to be a taboo.

0:08:58.720,0:09:02.776
Many of the volunteers took this prototype[br]themselves to educate girls

0:09:02.800,0:09:06.736
and take menstrual awareness workshops[br]in five different states in India.

0:09:06.760,0:09:10.136
And one of the volunteers[br]took this prototype to educate young monks

0:09:10.160,0:09:12.376
and took it to this monastery in Ladakh.

0:09:12.400,0:09:15.736
We made the final version of the book,[br]called "Menstrupedia Comic"

0:09:15.760,0:09:18.520
and launched in September last year.

0:09:19.120,0:09:20.496
And so far,

0:09:20.520,0:09:24.856
more than 4,000 girls have been[br]educated by using the book in India and --

0:09:24.880,0:09:27.536
(Applause)

0:09:27.560,0:09:28.776
Thank you.

0:09:28.800,0:09:31.120
(Applause)

0:09:34.240,0:09:36.040
And 10 different countries.

0:09:37.160,0:09:40.176
We are constantly translating the book[br]into different languages

0:09:40.200,0:09:42.936
and collaborating with local organizations

0:09:42.960,0:09:45.616
to make this book available[br]in different countries.

0:09:45.640,0:09:48.576
15 schools in different parts of India

0:09:48.600,0:09:52.016
have made this book[br]a part of their school curriculum

0:09:52.040,0:09:53.816
to teach girls about menstruation.

0:09:53.840,0:09:56.240
(Applause)

0:10:00.440,0:10:05.776
I am amazed to see how volunteers,

0:10:05.800,0:10:09.936
individuals, parents,[br]teachers, school principals,

0:10:09.960,0:10:11.456
have come together

0:10:11.480,0:10:15.736
and taken this menstrual awareness[br]drive to their own communities,

0:10:15.760,0:10:19.456
have made sure that the girls[br]learn about periods at the right age

0:10:19.480,0:10:21.640
and helped in breaking this taboo.

0:10:23.040,0:10:27.336
I dream of a future[br]where menstruation is not a curse,

0:10:27.360,0:10:28.896
not a disease,

0:10:28.920,0:10:31.360
but a welcoming change in a girl's life.

0:10:32.120,0:10:33.336
And I would --

0:10:33.360,0:10:35.480
(Applause)

0:10:37.960,0:10:39.336
And I would like to end this

0:10:39.360,0:10:43.256
with a small request[br]to all the parents here.

0:10:43.280,0:10:44.480
Dear parents,

0:10:45.240,0:10:47.456
if you would be ashamed of periods,

0:10:47.480,0:10:49.696
your daughters would be, too.

0:10:49.720,0:10:52.176
So please be period positive.

0:10:52.200,0:10:53.416
(Laughter)

0:10:53.440,0:10:54.656
Thank you.

0:10:54.680,0:10:57.403
(Applause)