Empowering Women: Menstruation, Public Health and Quality of life.

Abstract: Menstrual health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely absence of menstrual problems. Menstrual health is firmly on the global agenda today. WHO calls for menstrual health to be recognized, framed and addressed as a health and human rights issue, not a hygiene issue. Data suggests that about 2.3 crores of girls missed their school on the onset of menstruation during 2020-2021. Gender inequality and stereotypes prevailing in the society, which affects the women’s quality of life during menstruation. Most of the women experience problems such as physical, psychological, socio-cultural issues including depression, anxiety, mood swings, intense pain etc. As per available literature a woman menstruates about 38 years of her life leading to various changes in her life. The objective of this paper is to identify various physical and psychological problems faced by females during menstruation and also analyze the association between menstruation and its effects on women’s quality of life during the process of the shedding of the uterine lining on a regular monthly predictable period. The data suggests that the biological part of the menstruation is being covered in the biology textbooks at schools, but not cover the problems being faced by the girls and women in India due to socio-cultural factors such as social stigma and social taboos. Most of the girls reported that the first experience of menstruation was painful because they did not then understand what was happening. Adolescent girls who have menstrual issues such as cramps, tiredness, backache, swelling abdomen and painful breasts, miss their school and college and resulting the restricted growth and associated risks.