The Impact of Period Poverty on Mental Health

 

One's mental health must be given as much priority as one’s physical health. When we talk about period poverty, the connotations of mental health are no different. Period poverty essentially has an economic factor associated with it, but how intrinsic could the nature of this crisis get when one witnesses its physiological, psycho-sexual and cultural edges?

    Period poverty does not merely stick to the idea of the discomfort of women bleeding during their menstruation period or not being able to afford the essential resources. Rather, it extends to the implications that it has on the mental facet which breaks the flow of the smooth functioning of daily life.

 

Social burden: society protects or exploits?

    In light of the position of women in our society, while many activists are fighting for women’s menstrual rights (for instance, menstrual leave), women, who can’t break free from the firm grasp of poverty, are completely oblivious to such movements. Poverty debars women of basic menstrual resources. However, they still believe in the period stigma, as a result of the pressure that the patriarchal society has put on them.

    Can we imagine the amount of agony these poor women have to go through? There’s already physical pain, on top of it, mental torture takes shape. What must it feel like to be treated less than a human when they must actually be given much more respect, concern and warmth during these crucial days? This society, which is supposed to protect the people, ironically, expects women to conform to the so-called guidelines set by it. Therefore, such gender politics is used as an immense form of exploitation.

Diminishing confidence in oneself

    What is that within us that motivates us to keep looking for success and soaring higher amidst the various possible frictions of life? Yes, we’re talking about self-confidence. Unfortunately, poverty in itself has an immense mental influence on an individual. The very idea of being financially unstable exploits one’s confidence, thus, greatly hampering some major events in life.

    Period poverty becomes an unavoidable obstacle on the path to success. Consequently, the efficiency rate in the spheres of education, workplace, familial or peer relationships and so on gets pretty much negatively affected.

The idea of uncertainty crawls in

    The idea of diminishing confidence and esteem runs parallel with the idea of uncertainty. Women not having the resources that aid during their menstruation period, despite the various government policies and initiatives taken by non-governmental/non-profit organizations, reflects the idea of them being done out of their rights. When they aren’t able to exercise their rights or utilize the resources meant for them, their entire future. i.e., the notion of stability is put at risk.

 

Familial responsibilities add excessive pressure

    Poverty expects young minor girls to work earnestly so as to financially support their families. Even if some women understand the importance of menstrual products, they don’t have the resources to purchase or make use of them, owing to their poverty. Poverty has made their condition hopeless. Despite their predicament, they are expected to work even during their periods. Such pressure may cause panic attacks, low blood pressure, anxiety, depression and so on.

 

Anxiety and depression emerging out of socio-economic conditions

    Women may slowly slip into depression, self-doubt and self-loathing, resulting from unhygienic conditions, owing to poverty. Let us take the instance of a young girl coming from a poor family who has a bright future ahead of her. Not being able to access these essential menstrual resources has prevented her from going to school/university/ or her workplace. This has a very nuanced approach. She is ashamed, anxious and embarrassed about going anywhere as she has been debarred from accessing period protection. She is constantly afraid of any kind of mishap that may take place, which immensely hampers her career. This amounts to impacting her mental state quite negatively as she feels out of place due to her diminished socio-economic circumstances.

    As per the research conducted by Always, 44% of women experiencing period poverty struggled to find employment after completing their education.

 

How can you contribute to the cause at your own level?

 

Working with NGOs/NPOs

    There are several non-governmental/non-profit organizations working towards certain causes, pertaining especially to menstrual hygiene and period poverty. As a responsible citizen, but more importantly, as a human being, even the tiniest unit of support in any way could make a positive impact.

 

Taking part in menstrual drives

    Many organizations or individually-driven initiatives call for menstrual drives. Try taking part in these drives that promote and involve the distribution of sanitary pads, tampons or menstrual cups. In this way, you'd essentially be lending a hand in bettering the situation of period poverty at your own level.

 

Providing mental support

    Material contribution isn’t the only way of bringing a change in society towards the period stigma. Mental support, as a tool for spreading awareness, could at times be of much help that may facilitate bringing about effective change in the lives of the victims by raising levels of confidence and esteem in them.

 

Imparting knowledge

    There are many women faced with this crisis, yet they embrace the very notion of the stigma. While period stigma is the widespread cause of several diseases, obstinance, backed by ignorance, increases the rate by a significant amount. To break these unwanted boundaries must be your aim- take the necessary measures to persuade and enlighten people irrespective of their gender by imparting knowledge at your own level. For instance, organizing sessions with influential people to speak on the subject can truly impact the mindset of people.

 

 

Parting Note:

We would like to conclude our thoughts on this subject by quoting the words of Alesha Dixon, the ambassador for the Always UK #EndPeriodPoverty campaign:

“The effect that period poverty can have on a girl’s future is truly shocking. No school girl should go without the daily essentials that she needs, and no woman should suffer less opportunities because of this.”

 

 

 

Written by:

Sikta Tarangini,

(Content Head, PLNC)