Puberty
Puberty
They were the crucial minutes before the exam when I was trying to remember everything I had crammed into my brain when my friend came to me, pointed at his jaw and said, "Hey, you see this dope beard I am getting bruh, see now you can see my jawline perfectly eh, I look so manly no ? Now I'm a man."
I didn't know why he told me that. I wondered how a small line of beard made him a man. What was the joy in it? Why do you want to act like a man, when you are going to be a man in a few years.
Being a man. Every boy these days has written this on his bucket list - "Be a man".
I recall this. I was standing near my friend's house where I met two cute kids. They were playing badminton.(yeah Shuttel-kaak). Unfortunately, their cock got stuck in the tree. The shuttle-cock guys, come on. PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal play with that one noe. The dirty-colored one with the ball kinda thing on the bottom and feathery things around it. Damn not that one dirty people!! You got it right? Shuttle cock's cock stuck in the damn tree! eg, Yonex.
One of the kids told the other kid, "If you are a man, jump from that building and fly (from there to here) and bring that cock down from the tree. If you are a man(he emphasized)" Believe me, kids these days can do almost anything to show their friends that they are a man. If teachers made separate boy-handbooks with this quote under every assignment, "Do this homework if you are a man!", I could bet you that every boy would come to school the next day with extra homework. Nice idea right, teachers reading my blog, make a note. *wink*. While I'm thinking about all this, I see the other kid standing on the terrace of the neighboring house, trying to jump towards the tree like superman. The other kid standing below enjoys this and motivates his friend by saying,"Do it, jump!! You are a man!!". I freaked out. Then superheroically brought him down from the terrace and screwed the shit out of him and his 'cocky' friend. I asked them what was so cool in showing that they could act like a man. They replied immaturely, "sim-simple like that only bruh, don't get worried, take this like a man". I couldn't take more of this and I asked them what is the difference between them and a fully grown man. They replied, "Mans are old, kyids are young anna". Okay. I asked them if they knew anything else about maturity, puberty, reproductive organs, and they told me that they haven't been told about all this since they will become 'corrupted' if they knew this. So let's agree with this, I too grew up not knowing much of human stuff just because I didn't want to be corrupted. I decided to educate them on this issue. The kids, on listening to half of my lecture, ran away saying, "cheee anna what are you teaching me, bad anna, green touch, yeeiinnn!!". Other aunties started peeping out of their windows. I left the place.
Knowing about puberty is not wrong, every teenager faces it, but why aren't schools teaching about it at a very young age. What are they scared of? Let us assume that we could teach kids about what they would experience when they hit puberty. Then they would take the actual experience in a cooler and chilled out way. But we cannot do it. Puberty is considered as something we cannot discuss openly. Like its a 'taboo'.
Parents should teach their kids about puberty and have an open talk just like it is any other regular conversation. Some parents do, they are the cool ones. Some do not, they are cooler. If not the parents, the school, the siblings, every elder person the kid talks to, try to act like they do not know about puberty or reproduction. Now if you aren't going to teach, nobody will. You can teach them. It is not bad at all. Let's say, sex is a topic we don't talk about openly with kids, what if they learn about it from a bad source and in a bad way. If kids could play a game called 'Blue Whale' and kill themselves, there are very high chances that a kid could learn wrong things about such sensitive issues. So elders, whoever you are, parent, sibling, teacher or any well-wisher, make them well aware of human biological facts.
Back to puberty or physical maturity. Puberty in boys is very chilled out. You ask a boy whether they hit puberty, they will be like, "Ey what you asking bruh? I'm a man. I hit puberty long back. I hit it as soon as the doctor hit my ass, come on". When they actually hit puberty, boys usually let the whole world know that they hit it. Like suddenly bring it into a conversation, "Aunty, nice saree, guess what my voice cracked recently, puberty hehe" or come to a friend before an exam and say, "hey look at my beard!"
Puberty in females, unfortunately, isn't that openly discussed. It is considered inappropriate in conversations and is always kept away from the ears of kids. A woman menstruates five days a month and has to silently undergo the painful and yet natural process. As a young boy, I felt that bleeding occurs only due to injuries or cuts. Nobody told me that females undergo this on a monthly basis. This was well before these topics appeared in our biology textbooks. I remember a few boys in my school discussing this in a very insensitive way. They had no proper information about this. It was bad and disturbing. I couldn't intervene because I had not much knowledge on this topic. On a serious note, boys at schools must be told that their fellow female friends menstruate on a regular basis and is not dirty.
It is necessary to make a person undergoing pain, feel comfortable in any way possible. Anyone it is, any pain they experience. If everyone knows about it in the correct and responsible way, we can let our girls live in a matured and comfortable environment.
We are in the 21st century, we have made it to the mars, yet certain women still undergo a very severe issue. Sanitary pads. Believe me, Kasab entered India more comfortably than a packet of sanitary pads ever entered an Indian home. Why does the public get annoyed at the sight of menstrual implements? Why should women feel scared to let the world know that they possess sanitary pads or menstrual cups? Why are some people so narrow-minded? Menstruation is ultimately the reason why humans take birth. Everyone takes birth, so why don't we accept it the way it is?
Women undergo incredible pain due to hormonal changes. It is one of the reasons why they have intense mood swings, sleepless nights and restlessness. It is completely okay. You feel pain, you have to express it. It is not your fault.
The other disturbing fact is that in India, out of every 5 teenage girls or women, only 1 avails sanitary pads. The other 4 use substituents like rags, papers, ash and what not. It is a very major area of concern in the rural areas. The poor people cannot afford them. The movie Padman which released recently is a true story based on a man Arunachalam Muruganantham took up the bold step to manufacture and provide sanitary pads to the women of his village. He is one person who has actually solved a problem, rather than sit and complain. To solve the problem, we need many other such men to stand out and help women. Not the men who sit in AC cabins, cooling their balls and eating hot biryani served with black money. Don't be one of those people.
I understand the necessity of awareness and hence this is what I came up with to make the best use of my opportunity while stating it.
Here is the solution. Rural areas or people who do not avail sanitary pads should be helped.
There are NGOs who provide free, safe and tested sanitary pads to people who want them. If you know somebody, anybody who genuinely cannot avail them, contact these people. Here is the link to their sites
.
https://www.aakarinnovations.com/
https://goonj.org/njpc/
http://www.tajfoundation.org/activities/project-we-women-empowerment-supplying-sanitary-pads/
https://www.dasra.org/cause/improving-menstrual-health-and-hygiene
They are very genuine and well funded.
They have also personally assured me that it is completely okay to promote their cause. You can do it too by sharing the above links.
They even have the donate option, where you can donate money and indirectly help the needful women. Do your bit responsibly.
Remember, if anybody makes fun of the cause you are up to or behaves irresponsibly, do not worry. They are just not mentally matured enough to understand it. They will understand it sometime else.
Socially, we need to help anyone who is in pain or who wants something very necessary. Guys reading this, be a man now! Understand the sensitivity of the issue, tell women that they can approach you for any help, understand their emotions and help them in leading a healthy and comfortable life.
- Govardhan
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