In India, menstruation is culturally considered dirty so we need to break this taboo and teach our daughters that it is fine to have periods, boxing icon MC Mary Kom said yesterday
MC Mary Kom
New Delhi: In India, menstruation is culturally considered dirty so we need to break this taboo and teach our daughters that it is fine to have periods, boxing icon MC Mary Kom said yesterday.
MC Mary Kom
"Menstruation is the first step towards a healthy motherhood but in India it is culturally considered dirty or impure," Mary Kom wrote in an article on the occasion of International Day for Rural Women.
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"We need to break this taboo and teach our daughters that it is ok to have periods and it should not weigh them down mentally or physically or hold them back from accomplishing their dreams," she wrote.
Highlighting the need to ensure good health for women and girls in the rural areas and urban slums the medal winning athlete said the girls in rural areas need to be educated and informed about menstruation before they hit puberty.
Mothers can help
"As mothers we should not shy away from talking about periods to our daughters and educating them. In rural and tribal areas, girls continue to use sawdust, grass or mud during the periods which can lead to infections and even death.
"We should tell our daughters to use sanitary napkins or a clean cloth during periods and that they should bathe and change the napkins every 4-6 hours to keep themselves clean and dry," she added.
Mary Kom, a five-time world champion, became the first Indian woman boxer to win a gold medal at the Asian Games when she clinched the yellow metal in the Incheon Games earlier this month.
The Manipur-based pugilist is also the only Indian women boxer to win an Olympic medal — a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.
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