Confusion, excitement and horror: girls remember their first periods — Assembly

Young women from Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia and more share their stories to destigmatise menstruation.

Too often, conversations about periods are clouded in secrecy and shame. Yet at any given moment, there are 800 million girls and women menstruating around the world.

This stigma leads to medical misinformation and prevents girls from accessing menstrual products and completing their education.

In efforts to normalise conversations around menstruation, eight girls tell us about their first periods.

“My first menstruation was a horror because my family had laughed and made fun of my twin sister when she first menstruated. It was in a healthy way, but I didn't want them to do it to me, so I hid mine from my family for almost six months until my mother found out. After that we talked and she naturalized the situation for me. However, only after much study of the female body and feminism did I accept menstruation as part of me as a woman.”

— Amanda, 21, Brazil

“When I had my first period it was really scary and very painful. When I told my mom and sister, they told me it was a gift. Since I was good in biology, I wasn't confused about menstruation and how to use pads. When I'm menstruating, I can't attend my classes and I don't listen to the teacher carefully because I think only of the pain. Sometimes I don't go to school. Even though it has its own negative impact on my education, I know my period is a huge milestone of my life.”

— Mekdes, 17, Ethiopia

“I was 12 when I got my first period. I still remember it perfectly. It was on a Saturday, there was no school and my mum was out for work. I went to the bathroom and alas! I got my first period. It was a little scary and uncomfortable. My mum rushed home and taught me how to use a pad.”

— Zainab, 17, India

“After returning home from a track meet when I was 13, I found blood in my underwear and was absolutely horrified. I had previously been told by older girls on my track team that I would slow down once I got my period. In the following months, I proved them wrong by training hard and winning a national championship. Because of this experience, I think it’s really important to teach girls from a young age that periods are not a negative thing, but instead a unique part of what makes women and girls so powerful.”

— Rachel, 17, U.S.

“My first experience with menstruation was when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I think I was in sixth grade. My mother had already informed me on what a period was and school had also played an important role. School had informed me what I had to do when my menstrual cycle started, not to be worried and that it was a totally normal process that all women go through. So on that day when my period came, I did not feel panicked at all. I simply walked up to my mother’s room and took a pad from the drawer I saw that she had kept them in. I think that my experience is one of the smoothest and easiest encounters in menstruation history.”

— Fikir, 16, Ethiopia

“My first period took place when I was 12 and a half. As a soon-to-be teenager, I had many expectations of how my menstruation would transform me into a whole new 'woman.' I imagined myself becoming confident in my own skin, possibly growing a few inches taller and feeling as if I were a grown-up. Unfortunately, I had set the standards for reaching puberty at a very high level. Instead, the occasional cramps have been very painful. My first period occurred when I was in school. We had just finished our sports lesson for the day and as I was changing in the locker room, I had noticed unfamiliar stains on my pants. I immediately scrambled to the nurse, begged for a pad and began my journey of evolving into a stronger girl and woman.”

— Saranya, 16, Malaysia

“I didn't know what to feel. But it certainly wasn't pleasant. I had heard it was the start of womanhood but I wasn't sure if I wanted that yet. So, when I saw my period, I was like, ‘Really, I wish you didn't come!’”

— Armon, 16, Ethiopia

“Before I got my first period, I learned about it in school and from my mother. But I never wanted to get it because I saw how painful it was for my friends. I didn't want to experience the pain and I hated it even before I got it. I was sick for two days before I got my first period and when I got it, I was in school. It stained my dress. I told my friend that I just got my period and she went and bought a pad for me. Even though my mom told me a lot about it, I wasn't ready and it was confusing.”

— Kalkidan, 18, Ethiopia