Every year on May 28, Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed to bring attention to the importance of safe and accessible menstrual health to menstruators. It was first initiated by a German-based NGO, WASH United, in 2013 and observed for the first time in 2014.

As we talk about the importance of Menstrual Hygiene Day, let us shift our focus to why it is still relevant. If data is to be seen, the National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5) reveals that 36% of Indian women still do not have access to sanitary napkins. The World Bank also states that while on any given day, 300 million women worldwide are menstruating, an estimated 500 million women lack access to menstrual products.

All of this comes from the societal and cultural myths associated with menstruation, which have been embedded so strongly that they discourage menstruators from talking about it, let alone accessing the right product.

Menstruation is a natural bodily function that has been unfortunately shrouded in myths. While there are certain cultures which, in fact, have a positive attitude towards menstruation, for instance in Ancient Greece and Rome, menstruation was accorded great powers; most cultures often associate it with negativity.

As per a 2022 study titled Taboos Related to Menstruation in Various Cultures, in western Nepal, the tradition of chhaupadi, turned into law, prohibits women and girls from cooking food and compels them to spend the night outside homes.

There are similar rules that are applied even in India. Isolation and expulsion are followed throughout the South Asian subcontinent, which further discourages them from talking about it and asking for help.

In fact, a case in 2016, noted in the study, also recorded that she died in the hut while she was banished during menstruation, in Nepal. This led to the country criminalising the law in 2017, coming into effect in August 2018.

In Ethiopia, taboos related to vaginal bleeding led not only to women and girls being exiled from home while they are menstruating, but the taboo runs as far as during childbirth and postpartum bleeding. In some African communities, women are also discouraged from using insertable products such as tampons or menstrual cups, notes the study. As it is believed to break the hymen and so the woman loses her purity.

The study records an interview with a then 20-year-old girl, Nyanjuma Galoth, living in South Sudan, who said that she uses rags to absorb the blood flow.

In Kenya, this lack of conversation and awareness around menstrual health has led to more than 1 million girls missing up to 6 weeks of school each year.

Another study from 2022, published in PLOS one was conducted among the sub-ethnic groups - Temiar, living in Peninsular Malaysia. The study found that menstruators were discouraged from eating non-vegetarian food, salt, cooking oil, and rice. They were also discouraged from eating with other family members or community members, or washing at the river.

A 2007 study published in The Internet Journal of World Health and Societal Politics accounts for the various myths that are associated with menstruation in different religions. The study notes that in many tribal religions, there are separate menstrual huts which are allocated for women when they are on their period. Furthermore, sexual intercourse and cooking for husbands is also strictly forbidden.

In the Jewish code of law, Halakha, details strict rules that govern every aspect of the daily lives of jews, including their sexual lives. The code lays down guidelines to have separate beds when the woman is bleeding. The study notes that the woman is also expected to take a ritual bath following two weeks from the beginning of her "bleeding day" till the end of her 7 "clean days".

Orthodox Christianity also follows menstrual taboos, including disallowing women from receiving communion during their menstruation.

In Islam, menstruating women are considered "impure", notes the study and must be avoided by men. While the religion does not consider menstruating women to possess any kind of "contiguous uncleanness", it does treat menstruation as impure for religious functions.

Hinduism, too, views menstruating women as "impure" or "polluted" and menstruation is often referred to as a "curse". Women are also expected to leave their main house and live in a separate small hut, and not participate in communal gatherings.

While Buddhism sees menstruation as a "natural physical excretion that women have to go through on a monthly basis, nothing more or less", as noted by the Buddha Dharma Education Association, however, Hindu beliefs have carried forward in Buddhist cultures, and it has led to women being isolated. In fact different sects, also based on different geographies, treat menstruation differently within the ambit of Buddhism. For instance, menstrual blood is viewed as "dirt" or "poison", as noted by Furth & Shu-Yueh, as per Taiwanese Buddhism.

These myths act as barriers for menstruators to access the right menstrual products, often forcing them to use rags, leaves, or even sawdust, which leads to infections. The World Bank notes that poor menstrual hygiene can pose serious health risks, like reproductive and urinary tract infections, which can further result in future infertility and birth complications.

The United Nations have termed this phenomenon as 'Period Poverty', which refers to the inability to afford and access menstrual products, sanitation and hygiene facilities due to a lack of education and awareness. The World Health Organization (WHO) also notes that only 2 out of 5 girls worldwide are provided with menstrual health education.

The lack of accessibility is such, notes WHO, that less than 1 in 3 schools globally have bins for menstrual waste in girls' toilets. This drops to 1 in 5 schools in Least Developed Countries. Menstrual products are also not readily available in many regions. In fact, basic facilities like access to clean water to wash hands after changing pads are not available, which can lead to infections, such as hepatitis B and thrush.

When it comes to India, the NFHS-5 reveals that only 42% of adolescent women exclusively used hygienic methods while menstruating. Poor menstrual hygiene practices can cause health issues apart from the ones already listed above. This also includes rashes, itching, foul odour, and many reproductive health morbidities. Additionally, it can also compromise women's educational and economic opportunities.

This is why it is important to start the conversation around safe menstrual health, and the Menstrual Hygiene Day is a reminder of the same.