- StainS -

"The world gives you so much pain and here you are making gold out of it

- there is nothing purer than that".

Rupi Kaur

This series was born in collaboration with "Dignity Without Danger" (funded by the British Academy) and the Activist Art Centre Kaalo in the heart of the old Patan, during my stay there, following the outcome of meetings, workshops and a final exhibition aiming to "Break the Silence" about MENSTRUATION and create a safe space for sharing experiences, feelings and thoughts for an open dialogue about menstrual health, hygiene, and products… without shame.

“Stains” is a collection of images from black and white and colour medium format film, taken using also double exposure techniques, which portrait women and men carrying their persona background of shame, stigmas and taboos represented by words or symbols that they physically written, drew or embroidered, on pieces of cloth traditionally used as “sanitary” pads for period… a “visual” creative way to address menstrual exclusion in Nepal.

Facts:

Women and girls in Nepal lack basic rights to a dignified period. This means that they suffer inhumane and degrading treatment which includes abuse and violence. Exclusionary practices, stigmas and taboos around menstruation and menstrual hygiene, underpinned by traditional beliefs and cultural heritage practices prevent women and girls from fully participating in economic and social life, impacting negatively on school attendance and employment.

This definitely represents a violation of several human rights. In particular it violates the right to human dignity, but also the right to non-discrimination, equality, bodily integrity, health, privacy and the right to freedom from inhumane and degrading treatment from abuse and violence.

In Nepal a lack of adequate protection and inadequate washing facilities may increase susceptibility to infection with 83% of menstruating girls relying on cloth/old rags (Water Aid 2009).

There is no one all-encompassing single narrative on menstruation across the 125 caste and ethnic groups in Nepal and this project gathers experiences across many ethnic groups in diverse contexts, to challenge menstrual stigma and overcome the taboos.

(Patan, Nepal 2020)