Celebrating PubertyMany Indian cultures do celebrate puberty. There are elaborate rituals when a girl gets her first period. It does nothing to destigmatize menstruation. In fact, it can be embarrassing and confusing for young girls. Periods are a fact of nature that do not need celebration or stigmatization.
Akshay Kumar is being naive when he thinks celebration changes mentality. A celebration of womanhood actually can perpetuate more problems. Indian culture celebrates women. Indians honor Goddesses. Yet, India suffers from so many cases of rape and sexual assault. It leads to a Madonna-wh**e dichotomy. Unless a woman lives up to the chaste and pure requirements of a goddess, she is a wh**e who deserves no respect.
What women need is humanization. To accept that biological differences are a fact of nature and do not make any human better than or less than. And that all humans deserve equal respect and support.
Free stuff
India does offer free contraceptives and family planning counseling through govt sponsored family planning clinics.
Outside of that, in India and abroad, there are many non-profit organizations that hand out free condoms in dorms and parties to advocate safe sex.
The notion that women in the United States demand the govt to pay for contraceptives is misguided. The controversy is insurance coverage of contraceptives.
Insurance (other than Medicare/Medicaid) is not taxpayer funded. It is paid for by the hard earned money of policyholders. Insurance companies usually decide what products to put on their formulary. However, the government can mandate items to be on a formulary. Viagara and other erectile dysfunction products are covered by insurance. However, contraceptives have been iffy. Many insurance companies have tried to drop contraceptives from the formulary. Conservative politicians have supported these citing contraceptives to be immoral and thrown the red herring of tax-burden.
I think contraceptives and menstrual health products should be on an insurance formulary and/or heavily subsidized/tax exempt.
The right product?
A cloth is cheap, easy to use, biodegradable. However, it is inconvenient and unhygienic. The trapped moisture leads to bacteria build-up and increases the risk of infections.
Sanitary napkins are easy to use and hygienic. But they are not easily biodegradable. They take a long time to decompose. Costs can vary depending on production methods.
Tampons have a learning curve. But they are more convenient and hygienic. They allow flexibility to play sports and other activities. They are also not easily biodegradable and costs can vary. Tampons also pose the risk for Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Menstrual cups have a much steeper learning curve. They are convenient as they hold a lot more. They allow the flexibility for sports and activities. They are safer as they do not pose the risk of TSS. They are not easily biodegradable either. But they can be produced en masse cheaply and each cup can last around 3 years or more.
In a country like India, the government's best bet would be to subsidize napkins and encourage accessibility. Indians are still learning about menstrual health. There is not enough comfort level or sex ed to discuss insertable menstrual products.
Also, tampons and cups have a high risk of tearing the hymen. For many of us western and urban women, this is no big deal - but for many Indian women preserving the hymen is important. They will not easily accept the risk. Even in the west insertables are frowned on by some conservative communities as immoral and sexually perverse.
Edited by return_to_hades - 8 years ago
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