The secret river the politics of menstrual hygiene management in the WASH sector

1. The secret river the politics of menstrual hygiene management in the WASH sector Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt Senior Fellow, Resource Management in Asia Pacific Program Australian National university Contact: kuntala.lahiri-dutt@anu.edu.au

2. The ritu: seasons and menstrual cycle Tradition: • ‘… the rhythms of the body and the rhythms of the cosmos are in harmony..’ (Veena Das) • bodily fluids—menstrual, vaginal and amniotic—indicate generative capacity • premodern cultural traditions are also androcentric/patriarchal - yet did not subscribe to a mind/body division Ingestion of menstrual blood: ‘The underlying logic explaining why things defined as pure were always spoken of as healthy is evident when cleanliness is viewed in terms of seed imbued with power, which, if tempered, engenders social and personal well-being.’ (Hanssen)

3. Medicalizingmenstruation Effects of representing it as a ‘condition’: • waste product of the body – arousing disgust, requiring sanitisation • association with being ‘unclean’ – overlays discourses of purity and pollution • accomplished through ‘hygiene’ products • the body can carry out its ‘normal’ daily activities in spite ofmenstruating Essentialism: • must be experienced in the same manner – deviations as ab- or sub-normal state

8. An alternative

9. Disposal