I felt so happy and lucky when I first read this book a few weeks back. It gave me hope for a better future! I so wish to have read this as a teenager. It would have helped me a lot. When I read the stories and the poems, I felt seen. The shame you feel when you get a stain is very real and the very extreme measures one takes to just keep it a secret only does harm to both physical and mental health. This book is revolutionary and powerful, and I so wish that more and more people read it. Especially the teenagers who are still trying to figure out why there is so much shame and secrecy associated with a completely natural biological process.
The originality of Period Matters lies I how disparate genres and forms of art and writing in this collection illustrate the variances and commonality of the experience.
This incredible anthology contains stories, essays, interview, poems, and art on the menstruation. It was through this book that I got to know about Menstrala, which is art inspired by menstruation. I found it to be fascinating and powerful! The menstrala showcased in this book ranges from Rupi Kaur’s iconic phot essay, Anish Kapoor’s oil paintings, Shahzia Sikander’s non-miniaturist art, photographs of wall murals made by young people in Jharkhand, to Sarah Naqvi’s embroidery. There’s also a brilliantly choreographed dance by Amna Mawaz Khan that offers a new perspective on menstruation.
I’ve read some chapters of Period Matters and it was really surprising. The idea to collect very intimate real stories from our sisters from Asia is amazing. It was as if I travelled there and listened to their experiences, so different from my own. This is one of the very important part of every book, to change your mind while reading. Your book is excellent teacher, and its lesson is necessary for every human.
It lets you know about hidden difficulties and make you feel compassion, so good for the heart.
Thank you for your great work, Farah.
from a reader in Russia