Press
Open Magazine
1 Aug 2022
Open
Period Matters provides a wide-angle view of the narrow means with which menstruators in South Asian countries are forced to deal with an involuntary body function. In addition to the interviews and essays, fiction, poetry, and art in the anthology capture the discourse on the gendered compulsions and problems faced by young girls and women, highlighting the immediacy of the issues.
The Estd
1 Aug 2022
The Estd
Op Ed by Farah Ahamed
The news spread like a swollen river flowing rapidly. A river with its own destiny through every village. From far away, people came in cars, buses, on motorbikes and on foot to pay homage to Lajja Gauri. After 1500 years, the 10cm tall, almost forgotten stone statue of the lotus-headed goddess had suddenly started leaking. Initially a drop, but then quickly a steady river of red liquid trickled from between her thighs. No one was in any doubt that the statue of the goddess was menstruating.
The Platform
18 Jul 2022
The Platform
Interview with Farah Ahamed
In the summer of 2019, I was working on an essay on how menstruation had been portrayed in fiction, by female and male authors and the differences in their approach. It occurred to me that the diversity of menstruation experiences could best be reflected in a book which included both fiction and non-fiction. When I started writing the proposal, in my mind it felt like the book was already fully formed. I decided the anthology would move away from the conventional to a deeper and more honest cultivation of stories about menstruation.
Scroll
17 Jul 2022
Scroll
Period Matters is a well-planned and a well-thought out book. Ahamed leaves no gaps. If there’s anything that you are curious about menstruation experiences in South Asia, rest assured, the book has an answer to it. Period Matters an inclusive representation of menstruators in the truest sense of the word.
Mint Lounge
17 Jul 2022
Mint Lounge
Nobody can question the “breadth of perspectives” Ahamed compiles, bringing together varied experiences in a laudable and much needed endeavour.
eShe
12 Jul 2022
eShe
The anthology is backed with diligent research, including painstaking interviews of those at the margins. Wrapped in the folds of her silken words, Ahamed expresses the raw emotions of a woman – any woman, from a convict to a nun, a sweeper to a corporate honcho – wondering What if? as her poem of the same title questions.
eshe.in/2022/07/12/book-review-period-matters-edited-by-farah-ahamed
The Tribune
10 Jul 2022
The Tribune
Human rights lawyer Farah Ahamed’s anthology is a grim reminder of the steps not taken further. It gives a peek into menstruation related practices across South Asia and the plight of women.