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Since time immemorial, there have been numerous debates on menstruators in the army, and only recently have these debates been held without any sexual bias. If they join the army, how will they manage their monthly subscription to Lucifer's waterfalls?
While there are various jobs in the army that don't require people to on the field or have a little more flexibility in the schedules as compared to others, it goes without saying that army does have one of the strictest schedules as compared to the civilian lifestyle and not only does it mean that it's hard for individuals in general, it also means it takes a bad toll on the reproductive and menstrual health of menstruators in particular.
This means that the issues are not just with the hush-hush and the stigma around periods, but also a lack of accessibility to change, the hassle of managing work and periods, the rigorous training and the amenorrhoea that follows, and last but probably the most important, the issue of infections.
We all know the army isn't a place where you get to give yourself some sweet time for self-care. It's strict and it's difficult. It's not surprising for menstruators to develop UTIs and even menstrual disorders given the tight schedule and poor management in the army. It's also not a convenient task to go change whenever a person feels like it. Another big problem that people face in this situation is not having periods at all due to the high stress and rigorous training which sounds like a bright idea to menstruators who have painful cramps, but it's actually very destructive to the body.
Thanks to science, we've actually managed to transcend beyond these issues and have found safer more viable methods to adjust the process of menstruation in the army without people having to suffer.
And we called it.
Contraception!
Yes. It's the safest method to stop periods after a person has had at least one cycle.
The treatment includes a thorough examination by a doctor. The different methods of contraception can include the use of oral contraceptives or progestin-containing intrauterine devices (IUD).
Talking about these, we've already discussed the benefits of oral contraception in another article which we will link below for you guys. The next is the hormonal IUD’s (intrauterine devices). It is a form of birth control that releases progestogen from a small device inside the uterus. It is inserted by a doctor and provides birth control for 5 years. One of the common “side effects” is that one will not menstruate during this time. If one wishes to have children, the IUD can be removed by a doctor at any time.
Along with things like menstrual cups or 'super-absorbent' tampons, these are a few common practices followed by menstruators. It is still a tad bit difficult to point out and put a finger on how menstruators in the Indian army manage this chaos, given the taboo around menstruation in India. We know for a fact that menstrual suppression isn't the greatest tool used by menstruators to fit their schedules to the army's, but given how vocal people have become about menstruation, it's likely to change.
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