Writing and art on menstruation
A pathbreaking anthology on the diverse experiences of menstruation in South Asia.
Menstruation is a topic often buried in fear and shame. Its discussion is even taboo in many societies. But menstruation is a healthy and fundamental bodily process.
A worldwide effort is now firmly underway to bring conversations about menstruation and menstrual health into the open.
Period Matters carries this important endeavour forward.
Period Matters brings together a breadth of perspectives from well-known figures as well as those whose voices are missing from the mainstream.
Essays, artwork, stories and poems from policymakers, entrepreneurs, artists, academics, activists, as well as interviews with those at the margins, such as the homeless and those living with disabilities, explore myriad aspects of how menstruation is experienced in South Asia.
A collection of breathtaking scope and significance, Period Matters illustrates with power, purpose and creativity both the variances and commonalities of menstruation.
press
Blossoming Bodies
23 Nov 2025
Scroll.in
While growing up in Kenya, I was cautioned by my mother not to touch the curry plant when on my period. She left me with the impression that something in my body would contaminate the plant, prompting a feeling of deep self-revulsion.
One afternoon, when I was on my period and alone, I went into the garden and touched the curry plant. Nothing happened – not even when I pressed the leaf between my palms and stroked the branches. I monitored the plant, and after a week, I told my mother that she had been mistaken: there was nothing noxious in my body.
She replied, I was lucky the plant hadn’t died, and to never do it again because it would the next time. Later, I learnt that this was a common Kenyan-Asian belief.
scroll.in/article/1088369/blossoming-bodies-subverting-the-floral-metaphors-for-menstruation
Coded: Power, Impurity and Language in the Menstruation Conversation
28 Aug 2025
Writing Women
The language used to talk about menstruation is rarely neutral. Across cultures, fiction, law, and marketing, it is often coded, euphemised, and entangled in myths of impurity, shame, and secrecy. This language doesn’t just describe menstruation—it shapes how menstruators think about themselves. It becomes a way to regulate what can be said about women’s bodies, and, ultimately, a tool of control over women themselves.
I first became aware of this coded speech growing up in Nairobi in a Kenyan-Asian family. We spoke a fluid mix of Kiswahili, English, and Gujarati—shifting between languages without needing to translate. Words like mboga (vegetables), muiko (wooden spoon), bakuli (bowl), and ndizi (banana) passed easily from one tongue to another. But one day, when I was about ten, I overheard my aunt say to my mother, “Mgeni aiva che” or “The visitors are here.” I looked around. There were no visitors. Years later, I understood. It was a euphemism for menstruation. A quiet signal passed between women in a world where even naming the experience was unacceptable.
writingwomen.co/coded-power-impurity-and-language-in-the-menstruation-conversation
Postcards
International Menstruation Health Day 2025
On International Menstrual Health Day 2025, Farah conducted a workshop on Period Matters at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute. Participants engaged with different mediums of art, poetry and advertising depicting menstruation.
Book Club: Period Matters
Book club held at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute on 28th May 2025.
For this Menstrual Health Awareness Month, the book club explored the power of art in challenging period stigma.
Period Matters includes contributions from
Aakar Innovations • Farah Ahamed • Granaz Baloch • Siba Barkataki • Alnoor Bhimani • Srilekha Chakraborty • Shashi Deshpande • Tishani Doshi • Lyla FreeChild • Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan • Goonj • Menstrupedia • Anish Kapoor • Rupi Kaur • K. Madavane • Amna Mawaz Khan • Sarah Naqvi • Ayra Indrias Patras • Victoria Patrick • Radha Paudel • Radhika Radhakrishnan • Lisa Ray • Mariam Siar • Shahzia Sikander • Shashi Tharoor • Meera Tiwari • Tashi Zangmo
Edited by Farah Ahamed
Publisher: Macmillan
Language: English
Publication date: 28 June 2022
www.panmacmillan.co.in
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 9389104475
ISBN-13: 978-9389104479
Kindle: 16917 KB
Available to purchase
Raqs-E-Mahvaari
Lyla FreeChild
The book cover for Period Matters features “Aadya Shakti” by Lyla FreeChild
Aadya Shakti
Lyla FreeChild with artwork
My art was inspired by Lajja Gauri. Lajja Gauri is the lotus-headed Hindu goddess associated with abundance, fertility and sexuality. She is also known as Aadya Shakti (primal energy) and Bhu-devi (Earth goddess).
In my vision of her, I saw myself. In my painting you will see Lajja Gauri wearing thick bangles, toe rings, anklets and armlets which is the kind of jewelry I always wear. In order to do justice to what I had imagined, I photographed myself extensively. I wanted my art to be very personal and intimate. I had been harvesting my own menstrual blood for several years and had collected enough to use as paint. I was convinced this medium would allow me to reclaim the purity of menstrual blood.
Art for sale
Lyla FreeChild has made her artwork Aadya Shakti and Reflowering available as prints for sale.
These are A3 size Giclee Prints on Museum Etching Paper (high archival quality). Each print is individually signed by the artist. The original artworks were made using ink, acrylics and her menstrual fluid.
Purchasing Lyla’s artwork helps to support her and her art practice. Each print is priced at £30 (GBP 30). If you are interested, please contact us.