More about menstrual seclusion: Dogon of Mali - Hawaiian
- Suriname (discussed by Sally Price, Dittman
Professor of American Studies at the College of William and Mary, who spent
many periods in menstrual huts)
I believe most women in Europe probably bled into their clothing (into
their underclothing, a chemise - see it) before
1900; read about this.
Read about the washable pad project for the
neighboring Indian state, Rajasthan.
 
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Washable menstrual pads for women in Almora, Uttar
Pradesh state,
India, giving them more freedom (1999) (page 1)
Dr. Margaret Greene, of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, Takoma
Park, Maryland, U.S.A., visited the Museum of Menstruation when it was in
my house (see pictures here), and later sent
me the pages and the information accompanying the pages, below and on two
linked pages. (Her explanatory letter appears below
the illustration below.)
The main picture, below, shows women sitting in
a cow shed during their menstrual period, which they traditionally
must do. At right, women are shown the way to wear
the wood-ash pad, rather than bleed into their clothing for a week, which
they normally do (cross on pants). This disguises
their menstruation, allowing them to pursue normal activities, at
least for part of their period. Western women also conceal their menstrual
periods; advertising supports this. And I believe
many or most European women before at least the 19th century bled into their
clothing. Read my argument.
See the first page, below. The language is Hindi,
and you'll find the same language on some material for the washable pad
project in Rajasthan.
second page, third page
Long download! |
| Map: The arrow points to Almora, India, where this project occurred. Read
about the washable pad project in the state to the left, Rajasthan. |
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I [Dr. Margaret Greene, of the Center for Health and Gender Equity in
Takoma Park, Maryland, U.S.A.] promised to send you a little more information
about the wood ash sanitary napkin project
in Almora, Uttar Pradesh state, India. There,
women are completely restricted in their movements
during their periods.
They have to stay in the
cow shed without changing their clothes for an entire week. [See similar
secluded areas in old Hawaii
and a note about menstrual seclusion in Suriname.
Probably most rural women and those of the lower classes in Europe also
bled into their (under)clothing before around 1900, not using pads, tampons,
etc. Read something about this.]
Part of the work of the NGO "Sahayog"
has been to make women realize that the blood doesn't
come out of their bodies inherently polluted or smelling. They ask
women, What does a piece of meat smell like after it has been sitting in
the sun for a week?
Then they encourage them to make these sanitary pads
that are essentially sifted wood ash wrapped in a cloth. Wood ash
is readily available, absorbs odors, and can easily be thrown out into
the woods or fields when the pad has been used.
Slowly these women are gaining some control over their mobility through the ability to conceal when exactly they are menstruating.
[Read this same objective in much of Western
advertising.]
That way, if a special fair takes place during their period, for example,
they can start their seclusion a little earlier and be able to go to the
fair in the last days, wearing a sanitary napkin. It
isn't easy at all to make women feel freer because are closely supervised
by their mothers-in-law,
but Sahayog has made a start.
Their contact information is:
Dr. Abhijit Das and Jashodhara Das Gupta
Sahayog
Prem Kuti, Pokherkhali
Almora 263 601 UP
India
Warm regards,
Meg
Margaret E. Greene, Ph.D.
Center for Health and Gender Equity
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 910
Takoma Park, MD 20912 USA
Tel: 301-270-1182
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In 1994 someone wrote this museum, saying that many women in India
cannot use disposable pads because their mothers and mothers-in-law would
not allow this departure from tradition. The writer, an American woman at
a university in New York, then developed and planned to sell in India underpants
designed to hold and conceal disposable pads.
© 1999, 2002 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute
any of the work on this Web site in any manner or medium
without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations
to hfinley@mum.org
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