Blood.

月經，

Menstruation.

血，

Gross.

經血，

Secret.

噁心，

Hidden.

秘密，

Why?

遮掩。

A natural biological process

為什麼？

that every girl and woman goes through every month

這是自然的生理過程，

for about half of her life.

每個女孩、女人每個月 都必須經歷這事，

A phenomenon that is so significant

她們的大半人生都是如此度過。

that the survival and propagation of our species depends on it.

這個生理反應之重要，

Yet we consider it a taboo.

影響了人類的生存與繁衍。

We feel awkward and shameful talking about it.

然而我們卻視其為忌諱。

When I got my first periods,

一談到月經，我們就覺得 不自在，覺得羞恥。

I was told to keep it a secret from others --

我初經來潮時，

even from my father and brother.

被教導要保密——

Later when this chapter appeared in our textbooks,

即使對生父及親兄弟也是如此。

our biology teacher skipped the subject.

之後我看到教科書上 有一章談到此事，

(Laughter)

生物老師卻直接跳過。

You know what I learned from it?

（大笑）

I learned that it is really shameful to talk about it.

知道我從中學到什麼嗎？

I learned to be ashamed of my body.

我學到人們以談論此事為恥。

I learned to stay unaware of periods

我學到以自己的身體為恥。

in order to stay decent.

我學到不要正視月經

Research in various parts of India

好顯得莊重。

shows that three out of every 10 girls are not aware of menstruation

印度許多的研究

at the time of their first periods.

顯示每十個女孩就有三個

And in some parts of Rajasthan

在初經來潮時忽視月經。

this number is as high as nine out of 10 girls being unaware of it.

而在西印拉賈斯坦邦有些地方

You'd be surprised to know

十個女孩中有九個不重視月經。

that most of the girls that I have spoken to,

你們會對大部分跟我談過的女孩

who did not know about periods at the time of their first menstruation

因為不知道月經，

thought that they have got blood cancer

而在她們初經來潮時

and they're going to die soon.

以為自己得了血癌

Menstrual hygiene is a very important risk factor

並很快就要死了一事感到驚訝。

for reproductive tract infections.

經期衛生對於引發生殖道感染

But in India, only 12 percent of girls and women

是很重要的因素。

have access to hygienic ways of managing their periods.

然而在印度， 只有百分之十二的女性

If you do the math,

有辦法在經期保持清潔，

88 percent of girls and women use unhygienic ways to manage their periods.

算算看，

I was one of them.

有百分之八十八的女性沒辦法 在經期注意個人衛生。

I grew up in a small town called Garhwa, in Jharkhand,

我也是其中之一。

where even buying a sanitary napkin is considered shameful.

我在賈坎德邦上的小鎮加瓦縣長大，

So when I started getting my periods,

在那裡連購買衛生巾 都是很羞恥的事。

I began with using rags.

所以當我開始來月經的時候，

After every use I would wash and reuse them.

我使用的是碎布。

But to store them,

每次用完，我都會洗乾淨重複使用，

I would hide and keep it in a dark, damp place

但要保存這些布，

so that nobody finds out that I'm menstruating.

我必須把它們藏在陰暗潮濕的地方

Due to repeated washing the rags would become coarse,

才不會有人發現我正在行經。

and I would often get rashes and infections using them.

因為反覆清洗，這些布變得很粗，

I wore these already for five years until I moved out of that town.

我常常因此長疹子或過敏。

Another issue that periods brought in my life

在離開小鎮前， 我已經如此過了五年。

those of the social restrictions

另一件月經帶給我生活帶來的問題是，

that are imposed upon our girls and women when they're on their periods.

整個社會強壓在

I think you all must be aware of it,

我們這些經期中的女孩和女人 身上的約束。

but I'll still list it for the few who don't.

我想你們應該意識到這一點，

I was not allowed to touch or eat pickles.

但為了顧及那些不知道的人， 我再說一次，

I was not allowed to sit on the sofa or some other family member's bed.

我不被允許觸摸或食用醃漬物。

I had to wash my bed sheet after every period,

我不被允許坐在沙發 或其他家人的床上。

even if it was not stained.

每次月經完，我都必須洗床單。

I was considered impure

就算床單什麼也沒沾到，

and forbidden from worshipping or touching any object of religious importance.

我被認為是不潔的

You'll find signposts outside temples

所以禁止敬拜或碰觸 任何宗教相關的物件。

denying the entry of menstruating girls and women.

寺廟外面有各種

Ironically,

禁止經期中女性進入的標誌。

most of the time it is the older woman

諷刺的是，

who imposes such restrictions on younger girls in a family.

通常是年長女性

After all, they have grown up accepting such restrictions as norms.

強迫家族中的年輕女性 履行這些約束。

And in the absence of any intervention,

畢竟，她們生長的過程中 就是奉此為圭臬。

it is the myth and misconception

而因為無人介入，

that propagate from generation to generation.

這類迷信與誤解

During my years of work in this field,

就此代代流傳下來。

I have even come across stories

我多年在此領域中耕耘，

where girls have to eat and wash their dishes separately.

甚至聽過有的女孩們必須

They're not allowed to take baths during periods,

分桌吃飯和分開洗餐具。

and in some households they are even secluded from other family members.

她們在經期間不得洗盆浴，

About 85 percent of girls and women in India

在某些家庭中，她們甚至 與家族成員隔離。

would follow one or more restrictive customs on their periods every month.

在印度有百分之八十五的女性

Can you imagine what this does

都默認經期間有一種以上的 道德約束加諸己身。

to the self-esteem and self-confidence of a young girl?

你們能想像

The psychological trauma that this inflicts,

這對年輕女孩的自尊 和自信心影響多大嗎？

affecting her personality,

這些事造成的心理創傷，

her academic performance

對人格的影響，

and every single aspect of growing up during her early formative years?

對學業成就的影響

I religiously followed all these restrictive customs for 13 years,

以及對早期成長過程中 各方面的影響有多大呢？

until a discussion with my partner, Tuhin,

因信仰的緣故，我服從 這些規範十三年之久，

changed my perception about menstruation forever.

直到一次我跟夥伴杜辛深談，

In 2009, Tuhin and I were pursuing our postgraduation in design.

才永久改變了我對月經的概念。

We fell in love with each other

2009年時我和杜辛正為 從設計系畢業努力。

and I was at ease discussing periods with him.

我們墜入愛河，

Tuhin knew little about periods.

我跟他談到月經時是很自在的。

(Laughter)

杜辛對月經所知甚少。

He was astonished to know that girls get painful cramps

（笑聲）

and we bleed every month.

他對女性經痛症狀

(Laughter)

及每月出血一事感到震驚。

Yeah.

（笑聲）

He was completely shocked to know

沒錯。

about the restrictions that are imposed upon menstruating girls and women

他對女人在經期時受自家人

by their own families and their society.

及社會所設下的約束

In order to help me with my cramps,

感到徹底的震驚。

he would go on the Internet and learn more about menstruation.

為了舒緩我的經痛症狀，

When he shared his findings with me,

我們上網搜尋經期相關資訊。

I realized how little I knew about menstruation myself.

當他跟我分享他找到的訊息時，

And many of my beliefs actually turned out to be myths.

我才發現自己對行經一事所知甚淺。

That's when we wondered:

而許多我所信奉的事原來不過是迷信。

if we, being so well educated,

於是我們開始懷疑：

were so ill-informed about menstruation,

如果連受過高等教育的我們，

there would be millions of girls out there who would be ill-informed, too.

都對月經一事誤解這麼大，

To study --

一定有數百萬的女性 也對月經不清不楚。

to understand the problem better,

為了深讀、

I undertook a year-long research to study the lack of awareness about menstruation

並更了解問題本身，

and the root cause behind it.

我花了整整一年來找出 人們對月經的忽視

While it is generally believed

及其背後的元兇。

that menstrual unawareness and misconception is a rural phenomenon,

通常我們會認為

during my research,

對月經無知、誤解是鄉村現象，

I found that it is as much an urban phenomenon as well.

但根據我的調查，

And it exists with the educated urban class, also.

這在城市也是普遍的現象。

While talking to many parents and teachers,

對城市中受教育階級也是如此。

I found that many of them actually wanted to educate girls about periods

我在訪問許多家長及師長時，

before they have started getting their menstrual cycle.

發現很多人其實很想 在女孩們初經來潮前

And --

教育她們有關月經的知識。

but they lacked the proper means themselves.

然而——

And since it is a taboo,

她們苦於沒有適當的渠道。

they feel inhibition and shameful in talking about it.

而因為這是個忌諱的議題，

Girls nowadays get their periods in classes six and seven,

她們對談及此事感到壓抑及羞恥。

but our educational curriculum

現在的女孩們在六、七年級就來月經，

teaches girls about periods only in standard eight and nine.

但我們的學校課程

And since it is a taboo,

卻在標準的八、九年級 課程中才談到月經。

teachers still skip the subject altogether.

而因為此事是禁忌，

So school does not teach girls about periods,

師長們仍是不約而同地 跳過這個主題。

parents don't talk about it.

所以學校不教月經，

Where do the girls go?

家長不談月經。

Two decades ago and now --

女孩們怎麼辦？

nothing has changed.

二十年過去了，

I shared these finding with Tuhin and we wondered:

今天還是如此，沒有任何改變。

What if we could create something

我跟杜辛分享這些成果，我們在想：

that would help girls understand about menstruation on their own --

是不是能創造些

something that would help parents and teachers

幫助女性了解自己經期

talk about periods comfortably to young girls?

並讓家長和師長們

During my research,

自在地和年輕女性談到月經的事呢？

I was collecting a lot of stories.

在我調查的過程中，

These were stories of experiences of girls during their periods.

我收集了很多故事。

These stories would make girls curious and interested

是關於女孩們月經期間的經歷。

in talking about menstruation in their close circle.

這些故事能激起女孩們 在她們的專屬社交圈裡

That's what we wanted.

談論經期的好奇心和興趣。

We wanted something that would make the girls curious

這就是我們所要的。

and drive them to learn about it.

我們希望激起女性的好奇心

We wanted to use these stories to teach girls about periods.

並讓她們有學習的動機。

So we decided to create a comic book,

我們想用這些故事 來教女孩們認識月經。

where the cartoon characters would enact these stories

因此我們著手畫漫畫，

and educate girls about menstruation in a fun and engaging way.

漫畫角色會敘述這些故事

To represent girls in their different phases of puberty,

並用有趣且引人入勝的方式 教導關於月經的知識。

we have three characters.

為了代表女孩在青春期的不同階段，

Pinki, who has not gotten her period yet,

我們創造了三個角色。

Jiya who gets her period during the narrative of the book

還沒來初經的女孩彬琪，

and Mira who has already been getting her period.

在散文朗讀時來月經的女孩吉雅

There is a fourth character, Priya Didi.

以及穩定來月經的女孩米拉。

Through her, girls come to know about the various aspects of growing up

另外還有第四個角色毗拉蒂蒂。

and menstrual hygiene management.

藉著蒂蒂，女孩們學到成長中 不同方面的知識

While making the book, we took great care

以及經期衛生知識。

that none of the illustrations were objectionable in any way

書本繪製期間，我們相當留心

and that it is culturally sensitive.

漫畫中沒有出現任何會引起反感

During our prototype testing, we found that the girls loved the book.

和文化敏感的圖像。

They were keen on reading it

初試水溫時，我們發現 女孩們都愛死了這本書。

and knowing more and more about periods on their own.

她們讀得很開心

Parents and teachers were comfortable in talking about periods

並學到越來越多關於 自身月經的知識。

to young girls using the book,

家長和師長們在使用此書

and sometimes even boys were interested in reading it.

來談月經一事時，都感到自在，

(Laughter)

有時候連男生都想讀這本書。

(Applause)

（笑聲）

The comic book helped in creating an environment

（掌聲）

where menstruation ceased to be a taboo.

這本漫畫書有助製造一個

Many of the volunteers took this prototype themselves to educate girls

不再將月經視為忌諱的環境。

and take menstrual awareness workshops in five different states in India.

很多志工用這本書來教導女孩

And one of the volunteers took this prototype to educate young monks

並在印度五個不同省份 開設教導經期意識的工作坊。

and took it to this monastery in Ladakh.

一位志工用這本書來教育年輕女僧

We made the final version of the book, called "Menstrupedia Comic"

並將書帶到拉達克的修道院去。

and launched in September last year.

我們最終將書名訂為「經期百科」

And so far,

並在去年九月上市。

more than 4,000 girls have been educated by using the book in India and --

至今，

(Applause)

有超過四千名女孩因此書受教

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)

謝謝你們。

And 10 different countries.

（掌聲）

We are constantly translating the book into different languages

分別在印度和十個不同國家。

and collaborating with local organizations

我們不斷將此書翻譯為其他語言

to make this book available in different countries.

並與當地機關合作

15 schools in different parts of India

好提高此書在其他國家的知名度。

have made this book a part of their school curriculum

十五個在印度不同地方的學校

to teach girls about menstruation.

已經將此書列入學校課程中

(Applause)

用以教導女性月經的知識。

I am amazed to see how volunteers,

（掌聲）

individuals, parents, teachers, school principals,

我對志工、個人、家長

have come together

師長、校長

and taken this menstrual awareness drive to their own communities,

能夠團結一心感到不可思議，

have made sure that the girls learn about periods at the right age

他們將月經意識帶到自己的社群中，

and helped in breaking this taboo.

確保女孩們在對的年紀受教

I dream of a future where menstruation is not a curse,

並協助破除經期忌諱。

not a disease,

我夢想在未來， 女性月經不再是詛咒，

but a welcoming change in a girl's life.

不再是疾病，

And I would --

而是女性生命中值得欣喜的改變。

(Applause)

我想－－

And I would like to end this

（掌聲）

with a small request to all the parents here.

我想用一個

Dear parents,

對在座家長的小小請求來結束演講。

if you would be ashamed of periods,

親愛的家長們，

your daughters would be, too.

如果你們對月經感到羞恥，

So please be period positive.

你們的女兒們同樣也會如此，

(Laughter)

所以請積極面對月經。

Thank you.

（笑聲）

(Applause)

謝謝你們。