Titled First Period, the short film, directed by Mozez Singh, is in Hindi with subtitles and follows a young boy’s first day with periods. Ayush wakes up one morning, finding blood on his underwear. Worried, he tries not to go to school until his father finds out and convinces him that bleeding from down there is totally normal. It is to be noted that the short film does not feature any women and that sanitary napkins are all biodegradable thereby not harming the environment.
Ayush then proceeds to go to school, still apprehensive about his first day. But with friends and an equally caring teacher, Ayush overcomes his apprehension and continues to have a rather good day. His fears are put to rest and it’s no longer a taboo.
Cut to the last few minutes, when it’s morning again but this time, it isn’t Ayush but a young girl. The short film gives out some hard-hitting facts about how 70% of Indian mothers think menstruating is dirty and something to be ashamed of. The film also touches upon how 88% of women in India are forced to use rags, sand, paper, old fabric, dried leaves and plastics when they have their periods because most cannot afford sanitary napkins or the fact that it’s inaccessible to them.
Watch the short film here:
