I was born at a construction site in Sonipat, Haryana, to a migrant family in the Bundelkhand region, Uttar Pradesh.
Our lives at the construction sites were the happiest I could think of at that age and time. All the women would wake up early in the morning and freshen up in nearby empty sites; otherwise, they would face difficulty when the men woke up. I was small, so I'd wake up late and go to the washroom anytime, but my elder sister had to find bushes during the day.
One fine day when we were collecting plastic and iron from litter around the factories, I saw a red stain on my sister's skirt. I told her about it, and we ran to our mom, terrified. Listening to us, my mom took my sister inside and consoled her while I kept waiting outside and wanted to know what happened, but that moment never came. Not being privy to the conversation or any information about the incident, I tried discussing it with my father, but my mom slapped me for bringing such a private issue to him.
Every month, my sister would cry out of pain but couldn't say anything to anyone. Whenever any male was around, she had to hide her pain and not let anyone know. She would become weak, her clothes would be stained for 3 days, and she'd use clothes we collected from factory garbage.
When I started studying, I learned that what my sister had been experiencing was menstruation, a natural process that was stigmatized by my whole community. I then desperately wanted to change the stigma. Studying in a residential school, I didn't have a direct connection to my family at the construction site, but we did have villages around my school. The situation was similar everywhere.
According to the National Family Health Survey Report, 50% of women aged 15-24 still use clothes to manage their periods. There could be various reasons for the same, including unaffordability, inaccessibility, and lack of awareness. Amongst these, I feel that the lack of awareness needs to be tackled. Awareness makes the usage of pads easier, breaks stigmas around them, and spreads awareness about the ill effects of using clothes.
All the women who work at construction sites have migrated from remote villages, and their financial constraints result in them working in any situation. These menstruation practices have been in place for decades and is still prevalent at construction sites. Even if these women try using pads, they do not have an appropriate place to dispose of or change.
Every corporate firm has started conducting workshops or sessions for their employees, and women's empowerment is prominent in these firms. If the same is carried out at construction sites, then the workers can lead a meaningful life rather than just being machines that are made to work in any situation. Not all the sites/factories have toilets for their daily wage workers, especially in the construction sites of Sonipat, and Panipat in Haryana. If toilets are there, they are either fewer in number or ill-maintained. I believe that if all the sites are pressured to provide a conducive working environment for their employees, it would be a win-win situation as it results in both proper menstrual hygiene for women and higher productivity.
