Dharmatā
2019
Being brought up in a closed and conservative society, I was taught that conversations on our sex, sexuality, body, period and menstruation are all taboos. Growing up as a woman, I have always been asking myself what menstruation means to me. For me, it’s part of my existence. In fact, it’s very important part of my existence. Although I have never judged menophobia, which a lot of other people felt, I question why we have to speak in whispers about something inherent to our existence. This is how I started my conversations on menstruation with women and girls I know. From a woman to another woman, I wanted to know and understand what our periods mean to us; all the differences and similarities.
One of the girls muttered “why do only, us, women have to suffer from such kind of pain?” Another girl recounted her first period: “As soon as I realized it is what it is, I ran to my mom and proudly told her ‘I have become an adult’.” For some women, it is just natural process of their bodies. For some, it is pain, something they dislike. For some, it is something they are very proud of. For some, it is a taboo. For some, it is something full of myths that they have to challenge.
It is difficult to describe in words how I was left in deep thoughts and feelings after every conversation on menstruation I had with different women. “Dharmatā” is the result of my visualization process on a part of womanhood within the context of Burmese society, based on my conversations with all the women and girls who trust and shared their menstrual experiences and stories with me.
* Dharmatāis a Sanskrit word meaning the intrinsic nature of things, translated as “suchness” or “absolute nature” as well. In Myanmar tradition, “Dharmatā” is a colloquial term for menstruation.
