Football helps Mantasha spark a conversation to end period stigma !
There is silence everywhere. Mantasha is sitting on the ground and drawing a picture of herself. She is putting a lot of effort into it, paying attention to details and colours. Once she is has finished, her slum soccer coach, Shiba tells her and her friends a story on menstruation, using Sign Language.
Mantasha Ansari, a 17-years-old student of Bharat Deaf School, can be described as highly energetic, supportive, and helpful. Despite being deaf, she stands out in a room due to her extrovert nature and willingness to explain things to others. Whenever someone in her class struggles to understand something, Mantasha is quick to step up and clarify in her communication method of choice.
Mantasha is part of the DeafKidzGoal! Program and started to love playing football when the Slum Soccer team began visiting her school. Apart from football, she also enjoys running and playing Kho-Kho. She is a quick learner and a bright girl who loves studying, with English being her favourite subject. However, she struggles with Marathi, finding it particularly challenging.
DeafKidz Goal! is an impactful project focused on empowering deaf children in Nagpur, India. The project addresses the challenges faced by deaf children in their development and integration with the mainstream society. The program also aspires to create role models and champions among deaf youth, breaking barriers and changing perceptions to build a more inclusive society.Despite her confident and lively nature, Mantasha becomes pensive when asked about periods. Her mother has advised her not to speak about it with anyone, especially male family members. Her sisters have also discouraged her from discussing the topic.
When asked about her first period, she narrates using Indian Sign Language (ISL) that she was at school. She was shaken, and in pain as she did not know what was going on. Mantasha experienced a stomach ache and as soon as she stood up, her friends told her she had a blood stain on her dress. Her friends then took her to the teacher, who gave her a pad and told her there was nothing to worry about. That’s how she came to know about periods, but she still needed to learn more.
Once she got home that day, she told her mother that she had a stomach ache and tried to explain to her mother that she had gotten her period. However, as her mother did not know sign language, she could understand that Mantasha had a stomachache. That’s why her mother took her to the doctor, who informed Mantasha’s mother that her daughter had started her first period.
Mantasha was initially scared about her periods as she didn’t know much about them, because her family did not discuss the topic. She didn’t know how long the period would last, how frequently it would come, or the changes that would occur in her body as she grew up.. It was only when the Slum Soccer coaches started explaining about periods in ISL did she learned more about them.
She remembers that when the coaches came to the class and wanted to talk about periods, her reaction was similar to the reaction of most of the girls, as they experienced similar stigmatisation of periods in their families. They were very hesitant and embarrassed. Rather they wanted to avoid paying attention to what the coaches wanted them to know. But as soon as the coaches asked, “Do you play football during your period?”, Mantasha began to think about it.
She soon became very eager to learn about periods as it helped her understand her own body and made her feel more comfortable. In the beginning, she didn’t know how to track her period, but the Slum Soccer coaches showed them how to create a calendar to mark the days of their periods. With the help of the calendar, they could check when their next period might come. They learned that menstruation is a normal biological process of their sexual reproductive system, the menstrual cycle is usually 28 days and that periods typically last about five days. This information eased their insecurity, and they no longer had to worry about their periods constantly. When the girls were told that periods usually stop between the ages of 45-50, she said, “Oh, that’s good,” and the whole classroom laughed and felt relieved together.
In the Menstrual Hygiene Management classes, she learned that she could continue playing football during her period as long as she does not experience pain and feels comfortable. Previously, her mother had advised her not to play or attend prayers while on her period. However, as she enjoys playing football so much, she decided to keep playing as long as she feels good, and she even told her mother about it.
She has shared her knowledge about periods with her friends. She is no longer anxious or needs anyone’s help regarding menstruation since she has learned about the cycle,menstruation products, how to use and dispose of them as well as what to eat during periods. She has become very confident communicating about this topic and is now the go-to person amongst her friends to seek assistance with periods.
Slum Soccer has been instrumental in imparting information and knowledge about menstrual health and hygiene management amongst the deaf girls of Nagpur. Before that the word ‘period’ was strange to them. Even though their mothers were aware of periods, they never tried to share it with their daughters.
The classes on menstrual hygiene have changed Mantasha, making her more confident in conversing about menstruation. She believes it is essential to share this knowledge, even though it maybe uncomfortable to talk about it. After all, menstruation is a natural process, and everyone should be able to get support during their period without feeling ashamed to talk about it. Because together, we are stronger.
Slum Soccer 