Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020 |
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Dear Spreading Your Wings Family, Today is Menstrual Hygiene Day, and it's not in spite of the pandemic but because of it that it's more important than ever to stay connected. As you all have noticed, the pandemic exacerbates inequalities, injustices, and discrimination already in our midst. Systemic and societal inequities are more than ever brought to light. Menstrual Health is one such issue, given the unavailability and affordability of sanitary products, and the continued shame, silence, and oppressive control surrounding the female body. As a way of having a more active voice and staying in more continued dialogue, I have launched our new @SpreadingYourWings Instagram page. | | |
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I hope that you'll follow us, share our posts, and tag us in your own efforts to #endtheshame and #breakthestigmas associated with female healthcare, education, and bodily autonomy. As part of this effort, I joined with Thea Care this week for my first Instagram Live! I discussed the future of Menstrual Health Education, about what body-positive education for girls looks like, what it means to reframe the way we relate to the female body, and much more. | | |
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It is also my pleasure to share with all of you that last year Publishing Next awarded us Runner-up for 2019's Printed Children's Book of the Year (Ages 8+). |
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Additionally, we received a stellar book review from Feminism in India, an organization which I have very high respect for. Here is a quote from the review: "Spreading Your Wings normalises the female body and helps young minds connect with their body without any intrusion of patriarchal notions of womanhood." I can't imagine a higher compliment for the book, and I have had the joy of hearing from parents that the book indeed has this effect: girls receive a new frame for seeing their bodies and develop a deeper sense of self-love. Thanks to all of you there are hundreds of girls who have a new understanding of their bodies that hopefully empowers them throughout their lives. And I truly believe that you cannot measure the beauty of turning the light on behind one person's eyes as they view themselves in more self-loving ways. |
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Given the pandemic, our wonderful publisher Zubaan has needed to pause our selling capacities, but the book can still be purchased via Amazon. If you have a moment, please leave a review! Before the pandemic our team sold books at various women's health events throughout Delhi, and we've made connections with many organizations who are excitedly waiting for the Hindi version to be published so they can begin using the book in their communities. |
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For the past few years, there has been a team of people working to ensure the Hindi translation is just right -- maintaining the body-positive imagery, child-friendly accessible tone, and medically accurate language. We have had multiple rounds of editing with people from a variety of organizations, including the Population Foundation, volunteering to lend their time to ensure excellence. As a result, it has taken much longer than I could have foreseen, but the outcome has been worth the wait. Given the pandemic, we are now just waiting for the printing office to open upon which it can be sent to print, |
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Lastly, I wanted to share some closing thoughts about why Spreading Your Wings is so important to shaping the future of Menstrual Health Education. I wrote Spreading Your Wings based on the belief: If girls internalize that their menarche is impure and laden with stigmas, then they are set up for a life of devaluing their bodies and putting their needs secondary. Most organizations focus on providing medical information about periods, nutrition, and sanitation and making menstrual products accessible, but these tactics are inadequate for changing social behavior – such as, keeping girls in school – and do little to help address the myriad of adult women’s health issues. I believe period rights initiatives would have more long-lasting effects if the information provided revolved around the goal of dislodging the shame and myths surrounding the female body and replacing them with love, respect, and entitlement to healthcare, education, and autonomy. Critical to generating these lasting mindset shifts is how we teach about menstruation through the intentional crafting and use of body-positive games and metaphors that provide an empowering frame to transform shame into pride, and explicitly counters the underlying sexist narratives behind common menarche tropes. Spreading Your Wings is the first of it's kind, providing a tested road map for what body-positive menstruation education looks like to address the underlying systemic devaluation of women and their bodies. This is why we believe it's important to add our voice to the dialogue. We hope you'll help us spread the word! Thank you for your continued support, your passion, and your commitment to our shared vision. In gratitude, love, & solidarity, Ariana Abadian-Heifetz |
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