sking the womenfolk: Ever got stuck in a situation where you didn’t have access to sanitary napkins? This was a very common problem during early years of education in our times. Shame and trauma would go hand in hand as girls were not prepared with respect to the changes taking place in their bodies as they reached puberty. When it did happen out of the blue, most thought it was cancer or they were about to die.

Often, girls were told old myths: Hide the napkin saat pardon kay peechhay (behind seven curtains) in our purses/school bags and never let the brothers or fathers know about it. They were forced to wake up at sehri only to pretend that they were fasting.

If menstruation started during school/college hours, your uniform was soiled, some class fellows would crack jokes, and due to lack of medical facilities and hygiene conditions on campus, they would need to call home.

Co-education would make things worse. I can fully understand the horrors one went through back in the day. Today, of course, things seem a tad better, as girls usually carry an extra napkin in case of an emergency or to provide help to others. Most medical rooms in schools and colleges are also equipped with these napkins.

Even though advertisements of sanitary napkins routinely run on our TV channels, menstruation and the problems that come with it are still not considered part of ‘civil’ conversation, especially among the lower strata of society. Thankfully, the educated classes are beginning to accept this as a reality and addressing it with an open mind. Many young urban women are now seen having conversations on monthly cycles, how they are impacted by these, and why those ‘brown bags’ you hide the sanitary pads in at a general store must be thrown away.

Many young, urban women are now seen having conversations on monthly cycles, how they are impacted by these, and why those ‘brown bags’ you hide the sanitary pads in at a general store must be thrown away.

On many social media platforms one can see mothers and sisters opening up to the menfolk at home, about menstruation, and explaining to them the sensitivities around it. This is a good way to sensitise the other gender about important matters related to women.

Which brings me to the topic of health and sex education. I believe that children need to learn what is happening to their bodies and how they can stay safe. Fathers need to play an active role in educating their sons on such topics. Recently, news on social media went viral about vending machines being installed in educational institutes of Lahore where you could buy sanitary napkins from. This move by educational institutes like the GCU and the LUMS is highly commendable. This will make life easier for young women.

The provision of vending machines is just what the doctor ordered. It’s a step in the right direction, and shows hope for our society which may be on the path to becoming inclusive. We need such machines everywhere. No woman should have to suffer due to lack of hygiene facilities.

The writer is a freelance journalist