Red is the New Green founder Deane De Menezes wants menstruation to be taught in schools
Getting men involved will go a long way in busting taboos surrounding menstruation, believes Deane De Menezes. The 23-year-old founder of year-old Red is the New Green, a campaign dedicated to providing sanitary napkins in schools, colleges and hospitals, is now also focusing on getting men on board to talk about the biological process.
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"Men are largely left out of any menstruation-related talk, and as a result, we have men all around us not sure how exactly it works," says Menezes. "We want menstruation to be discussed in class just like history or geography. We want boys to ask questions, understand that periods are normal and be supportive of their female classmates. Such boys will grow up to be more informed."
Menezes, who also engages the masses and women in an open dialogue on menstruation, says the men her team spoke to have been very supportive of the campaign. "For starters, they claim to know the cycle and its working better now. They wonder how they didn’t realise for years what their mothers and sisters went through. They want to be able to talk to their kids about periods and go buy sanitary pads without awkwardness."
She also points at the conditioning of women to blindly follow myths associated with periods. "As most myths are passed down through generations, women have stopped questioning them and just follow them either to not upset the older family members or because everybody else is doing it." Menezes says lack of information and support from peers are the biggest obstacles that women face when defying set practices.
Many of the women Menezes has spoken to say they have been scarred by the shame surrounding menstruation. "Women have been force-fed beliefs and myths. It’s time for us to challenge them. Getting your period is a completely normal, healthy process, and we need to celebrate it, instead of hiding behind in shame."
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