Lahore: In an attempt to obliterate the stigma attached to periods, few students of Lahore’s Beaconhouse National University (BNU) put up sanitary napkins on walls of the campus with messages written on them.
According to a report, the messages on the sanitary napkins read ‘this blood is not dirty’ and ‘periods make us hornier’. The initiative being a brainchild of the university students was undertaken to condemn the stereotypical definition of periods.
Termed as period protest, it triggered a series of reactions in the university. Some people showed overwhelming support to the cause, however, there were some who chastised the same.
The protest was initiated by students - Mavera Rahim, Eman Suleman, Mehsum Basharat, Noor Fatima, Sherbaz Lehri and Asad Sheikh.
"We are made to carry sanitary napkins in a brown paper bag, as if it is something which should be kept behind the veil. Further, owing to inadequacy of knowledge women often fail to take proper measures while having periods which inevitably affect their well being," said Mavera Rahim.
Rahim took to Facebook to put forth her views. “The protest was against the stigma attached to menstruation and the sharmindagi (shame) with which we discuss it,” she posted.
A year ago, students of Jamia Milia Islamia undertook a similar campaign to protest gender stereotypes and violence against women. The move sparked off a furore on the campus. Earlier, a string of protests on similar lines have been witnessed in other Indian varsities like Jadavpur University.
