Twitter Thread On A Conversation Woman Had With Her Maid On Menstrual Hygiene Is A Must Read

Even today, there is a lot of stigmas attached to menstruation. An entirely natural biological process that through years of religious beliefs and societal practices, has come to be classified under the “unspeakable” category. While this classification has caused women a lot of trouble since forever, the most important one is the lack of conversation on menstrual hygiene. While many are fortunate enough to have been born into educated and financially sound families, this isn’t the case with many other.

According to a recent study, 23 million girls drop out of school every year in India, when they start menstruating. And many among these later develop serious health concerns due to the lack of proper sanitation.

A Twitter user recently shared a conversation she had with her maid and the thread shows you exactly how bad the situation is among women of low-income groups.

She spoke about how she had once asked her maid to use an old t-shirt of hers as a dusting cloth. Her maid’s response, however, surprised her:

While I was in India, I gave my maid didi an old tshirt and asked her to use it as a dusting cloth. She asked me if she could take it instead. I asked her why she needed that old rag knowing well that she only wears sari or suits. She said she would use it during her periods.

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

Upon being asked why she doesn’t use sanitary napkins, her maid tells her they’re too expensive for her to be able to afford them every month.

As the one she was using was very torn and old. For a moment I was silent and sad. I asked her why she didn’t used sanitary pads instead. She said she knew about them but they were too expensive. She would rather use that money for household expenses. I gave her a whole pack

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

The maid’s response again raises questions about the 12% GST levied on menstrual products.

And before leaving told my mom to give her pads every month. Why the pads have a 12% gst levied on them whereas makeup stuff like bindi, sindoor and kajal are exempted is a debate. Even though some govt institutions are providing free pads there is obviously much left to be done

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

The maid reveals that women in her neighbourhood often resort to worse options during their periods.

She also told me that the place where she lives, women even use ash, dust, sand and even sawdust instead of pads. A study I was reading online reveals that 70% of reproductive diseases in India are caused by poor menstrual hygiene and it can also affect maternal mortality.

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

Apart from sharing about the incident, Twitter user @swatic12 also has a solution for the matter.

I would request all of you reading this thread to help by giving sanitary pads every month to your house help, maids, any female workers around you apart from their monthly salary.

It will not cost you much but will be a very effective step towards their hygiene and betterment

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

1. Please take out 10 min to educate them of the benefits of using sanitary pads n the health hazards caused by cloth or other alternatives like ash or dust.

2. Open the bag just a little before you give them so that they cannot be resold in market defeating the whole purpose

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

She urges each of us to play our parts, rather than just waiting for the government to fix everything:

Here’s what you can do:

1. Educate and encourage your house help to try sanitary pads
2. Get economical packs from your nearest Jan Aushadhi stores. At 2.5 rs per pad 10-12 pads will cost you only 25-30 Rs a month
3. Give them these packs every month on top of their salary

— SwatKat💃 (@swatic12) July 6, 2018

Her tweets have been met with praise and support from others on Twitter, with many voicing their own experiences in this matter:

1. Indeed.

This is such a brilliant thread. @swatic12 👏
Must read for anyone who cares about the appalling menstrual health & sanitation situation in our country. https://t.co/SHjnxKqRvP

— Nakuul Mehta (@NakuulMehta) July 7, 2018

2. The simple steps matter.

This thread proves that you don’t need to be a genius to bring about change and simple common sense can move mountains.

— Gentle Giant (@iKunaal) July 8, 2018

3. It’s already making waves.

Just shared this with my wife, and asked her if she could help the maid and her daughter in terms of giving the sanitary napkins to them, as it's basic human nature- a compromised person knows the value of self-respect but a content person usually don't. Thank you Swat Kat Miss

— Nirmohi_bandey ™ (@kushalwadhwani) July 8, 2018

4. True.

Still,there are families where they start surfing TV channels randomly whenever they come across Sanitary napkins advertisements let alone watching a movie like Padman.
It is really difficult to strike up a conversation in such households and make them aware.

— Abhismita Roy (@Abhismita_Roy) July 7, 2018

5. This is something we can all do.

I've been giving pads to my maids for years now. It's a basic necessity. I wish more people would do the same. It's sad to read about how difficult this society makes it for them to cope with a major bodily function.

— MB (@MithiMirchi10) July 6, 2018

6. We’re all guilty of wasting so much more money on meaningless luxuries.

My wife is also working on it..she choose one school from tribal area, educate those girls about it and give one pack of pads..she was sad to know women in such area use plastic cement bags for periods..then she strarted it..it cost only 4 or 5k per month..

— Ketan raygor (@KetanRaygor) July 7, 2018

7. Yes, social media doesn’t just have to be about memes and trolls.

https://twitter.com/Abhi17x89/status/1015648017964195840

8. We all have to play our parts to see a better tomorrow.

https://twitter.com/BhatiaPriyanka6/status/1015289591073472513

This Twitter thread reminds us just how desolate the state of menstrual hygiene is in India, even today. But it also reminds us of how we are all responsible for bringing out a change by playing our small parts. The solution presented here is simple and definitely doable. Rather than simply raising our voices at the government, it would be more productive if we were all to join handles and build a brighter and safer future for the women of our country.