The taboos, stigma, restrictions and discrimination associated with menstruation is s form of sexual and gender based violence. Irrespective of class, caste, religion, region, it is practicing across globe at various forms and degrees. The CEDAW’s (article 1-16), ICPD, and many international human right instruments are validate this facts.
By
considering the goal of 16 days activism, RPF, GSCDM and its partners initiated
the International Dignified Menstruation day since 2019.
The
MoWCSC also gave the celebration its endorsement. There are other reasons, too,
why it is relevant to consider 8 December, the 14th day of the 16 Days
of Activism as International Dignified Menstruation Day. Those reasons follow
A. From the perspective of the
global agenda
1. 1. Nine of the seventeen Sustainable
Development Goals are directly related to dignified menstruation. In fact,
dignified menstruation is a pre-condition for achieving `leave no one behind’.
Without having a dialogue about dignified menstruation, it is not possible to
achieve education for all or economic empowerment or prevent child marriage.
2. 2. The UN considers that sexual
and gender-based violence embraces all acts against person’s will. Menstruators
forced to endure taboos, stigma, restrictions and discrimination are not acting
as per their wishes. Having a dialogue on dignified menstruation is one of the
key tools to preventing sexual and gender-based violence by reconstructing and
shaping power from childhood.
3. 3. Points 1 and 2 suggest
that any form of menstrual discrimination is sexual and gender-based violence.
Often, menstrual practices have a cause-effect relationship with various types
of sexual and gender-based violence like sexual abuse, rape and child marriage.
4. 4. December has been the
month of human rights since 1948. All menstruators deserve dignity throughout
their life cycle. The 8th of December, the 14th day of
the 16 Days of Activism is a good day to remember that fact.
1. Many articles in Nepal’s
Constitution of 2015 are directly and indirectly related to dignity during
menstruation, including the ten fundamental rights
2. The MoWCSC of Nepal
promulgated the Domestic Violence (Crime and Punishment) Act in 2009 to prevent
and address cases of sexual and gender based violence
3. Over the last four years
(2016-2020), 85 percent of the total cases of sexual and gender-based violence registered
with the police were perpetrated by men the victims knew, whether from their
families or workplaces. This data reveals
that the home is the most common unsafe place for girls and women. Here, the
relationship between the silence and ignorance around menstruation and power
construction and socialization from childhood are significantly connected.
Thus, in order to reconstruct power and redefine gender norms, it is crucial to
acknowledge menstruation with dignity in Nepal and beyond
4. Nepal has been working on
sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) since 2000
5. The government of Nepal
has promised to implement more than a dozen international human right
instruments, and menstruation is a crucial element for it to fulfill its
commitment. Without understanding the cause-and effect-relationship between
menstrual practice and child marriage, ending that practice is impossible even
by 2030. Child marriage is deeply entrenched due to the power construction
between women and girl and men and boys at home and the different socialization
processes of the genders, wherein menstruation plays an important role.
6. The variety of menstruation-related
practices are observed across the country and beyond. Like the practices
themselves, their impacts are both visible and invisible. Practices in some
parts of West Nepal have been internationalized by the media and everyone has
focused on them, whereas practices in the East and in the capital city are
invisible and rarely discussed. But even in the latter places, menstruators live
in dehumanised conditions as they are seen as impure due to menstruation. In
order to address all practices around menstruation, even the invisible, a visible
campaign on dignified menstruation is relevant and urgent
7. The concept of dignified
menstruation is a huge and comprehensive concept. This is a new approach for
the world, one in which menstruation is considered to be complex and
multifaceted natural phenomena. In order to increase momentum toward the
acknowledgement and addressing of the social, cultural, political, economic,
and environmental issues associated with menstruation, having a dedicated day
for dignified menstruation is important.
Bibliography
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