It’s been about two years since that incident took place but whenever Aditi remembers it, she feels so proud to be a woman. In actuality, her employer was conducting campus recruitment drives and obviously, a large number of aspirants, both girls as well as boys, were expected to have their acumen tested.

Aditi was engrossed in her project work at her workstation when she was suddenly approached by Myra, the HR of the company who asked her in a hush-hush manner: “Aditi do you have a sanitary napkin?” Unfortunately, Aditi couldn’t hear Myra because of the constant murmuring and discussions in the background.

Myra noting this, took hold of Aditi’s keyboard and with its aid typed ‘Sanitary Napkin’ on the very document that was open on Aditi’s screen. Realizing that it was something extremely essential, Aditi without wasting any time replied: “Give me a minute, I’ll just check and let you know?” To her utter dismay, she wasn’t carrying one that day. When she conveyed the news to Myra, the HR looked at her furiously and then without uttering a single word, walked away.

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Somehow, Aditi was known to be the one who always carried a sanitary napkin in her handbag. To a large extent this was true since she always bore in mind that if someone required it, then she could be of some help and until that day, she hadn’t turned away people empty-handed before. Aditi had recently changed her handbag and had transferred nearly all the items of her old bag into her new one save for a few things which included the napkin. But, she decided to take a chance and check her bag again.

NO.

The inner pocket of her bag in which she had decided to keep the napkin was empty. Re-confirming this once more to herself, Aditi quickly got up from her seat and seeing Myra manage the interview candidates, walked up to her and asked her who required it. Myra replied: “That female candidate on the other side of your workstation needs it.” Hearing this and sensing that the girl who needed it was in bad state, Aditi once again swung into action. She broadcasted the message: “Sanitary Napkin – Urgent Requirement…Please Help!” to her other female colleagues as soon as she returned to her desktop.

As Aditi raised her head after sending out the message, she faced some weird reactions from her female co-workers. While some opened their mouths in astonishment, still others made uncanny gestures pointing towards her and behaving as if she had asked them something completely abnormal and unknown. But she knew this was bound to happen and so she took their reactions in her stride.

Aditi finally received a response that said “Yes” after which she conveyed the message to her HR who collected the napkin and sneakily gave it to the candidate who dashed straight to the washroom. By this time, word had somehow spread among the other applicants and the office staff that this particular girl in a peach-colored full sleeved shirt and dark grey formal trousers was “down” which was a code-word used for menstruation and that she needed a sanitary napkin urgently.

With everyone looking at her with a sense of amusement, the candidate became tearful. When suddenly her name was called out in the background for the final round and with tears just on the brink of her eyes, the other candidates expected her to leave. But, wiping off her tears and thus, gaining control of the situation, the lady walked inside the Director’s room. Others waiting for their turn were left red-faced because of her candidness and outspokenness. She later got the job for the vacant post with her analytical reasoning, advanced researching skills and extreme displays of fearlessness.

Her name is Akriti and she joined Aditi’s team as a business development assistant.

But unfortunately, some stereotyping females and contemporaries tried to poke fun at Akriti a few times by recalling what had happened to her at her interview, particularly in front of those female peers who did not know about what happened.

Seeing that things were moving astray and was getting blown out of proportion, Akriti one day cornered all those who were saying nasty things about her past and asked them a few questions…had they never ever faced a situation since they started menstruating when they were at the receiving end of such onslaughts? How would they feel if someone constantly took up such a matter that is considered to be a taboo by society and tried to shame them? Is this her fault that she experienced something completely natural and out of her reach at a crucial time like at an interview?

 She then added loudly: “I’m not ashamed of what happened to me.”

All those listening to Akriti realized their mistake and bent their heads in embarrassment apologetically. Aditi complimented Akriti for her sheer boldness when she learnt of all of these developments. Taking the above discussed incident as a solid example, some important points need to highlighted: keep a track of your menstruation dates and just in case you have an important meeting coming up, be it professional like an interview or a meeting with a client, or personal in nature, for instance when you are going out for a family dinner or a party, do take all the precautionary measures. Be well – equipped with a good quality sanitary napkin, instead of sulking later.

But in the case that you do miss out on carrying a sanitary napkin and are in dire need of one, you shouldn’t shy away from seeking help, because until and unless you get over the awkwardness and unease that you feel while having your menstrual cycle and talking and demanding help for it…change will not begin. Always remember change always starts at home…so until and unless you change your mindset you cannot expect others to change their mindset for you.

Deepti_Garg_thumbAuthor – Deepti Garg

Deepti Garg is a Delhi-based Entrepreneur and Founder of http://www.deeptiwrites.com, a website dedicated to web content writing. With a decade long writing experience, she is a freelance web content writer and independent blogger, contributing her thoughts to the Speaking Tree portal of the Times of India.

Edited by – Divya Rosaline

Illustration by Aditi Gupta.

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