On occasion of the International Menstrual Hygiene Day and the International day of Action of Women's Health, the team of MGIMS Bioethics Unit took up an online campaign to end the stigma around menstrual cycle. The #RedDotChallenge - as conceived by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) - was taken up the MGIMS Bioethics Unit to talk about periods and menstrual hygiene. In 2017, MGIMS became the nodal center of UNESCO Bioethics Wing for teaching and training bioethics in the medical curriculum and the MGIMS Bioethics Unit has been implementing the UNESCO intergrated curriculum since then.
On 28th May 2020, the students of the Bioethics Unit made a small video with their own photos with a red colored dot on the middle of their palms. They posted the video on their social media pages, nominated everyone for this challenge and asked them to post their own picture with a red dot on their story/account, tag @unicefindia @mgimsbioethicsunit and nominate other two people for the same. 'Let's Put A Period To Shaming The Period' was the theme of the day.
“We are right now in a world with rapidly changing times and traditions. It is about time we acknowledge everything and anything related to menstrual cycle”, mentioned one of the unit members. The campaign measured success with many taking up the challenge against ending the sigma. One of the comments said, “Menstruation is a cycle not a disease, It's a natural phenomenon. Nothing will ever change unless we all challenge the stereotypes, the stigmas, the taboos surrounding menstruation”.
The link to the campaign is here -
https://www.facebook.com/
