Srinagar, Oct. 27 -- For as long as menstruation has existed, so has the silence around it. In homes, schools, and communities across Jammu & Kashmir and around the world, periods have been wrapped in coded language, fear, and myth. A girl's first period is often met not with education but with exclusion: she cannot cook, cannot pray, cannot touch pickles, cannot sleep in her own bed, cannot be seen at all. These rules are presented as tradition, but they teach a girl, at a significant stage of her development, that her body is something to be hidden and ashamed of. Breaking myths and stigma are the foundation of menstrual hygiene work.

Where the Myths Come From

Menstrual myths are not uniquely Kashmiri, nor uniquely Indian. Across cult...