advertisement
When Samantha in Sex and the City 2 spent the entire movie flinging her jacket off to fan herself and go gallivanting about an unfamiliar Abu Dhabi looking for her ‘pills and creams’, a whole subsection of an erstwhile mute Hollywood population sat up and rejoiced. Despite the film’s obviously cartoonish caricature of certain aspects of menopause – think: sudden absences and equally sudden reappearances of libido in a week – the unthinkable had been done. Someone had said the ‘M’ word in cinema.
Back home, in India, there are two ‘M’s to contend with: menstruation and menopause. Neither’s seen great strides in cinematic representation – but while the former is at least implied by one shot of a glossy, green Whisper pack, there is no empty boudoir drawer to imply Aunty Flo went AWOL.
Menopause is a time in a woman’s life when periods stop completely and she is unable to bear children. While the average age worldwide for menopause is 50 – and 48 in India – a recent study has established a drop in the age at which women are hitting menopause. The Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) has reported that nearly 4 percent of women now experience menopause as early as between the ages of 29 and 34, and 8 percent hit menopause between 35 and 39.
Also Read: Oh Snap! Makeup Can Trigger Early Menopause
While premature ovarian failure (POF) is cited as one of the primary causes for this abrupt drop, lifestyle changes over the decades – such as smoking, increased work stress, changing food habits, cancers of various parts of the body can all lead to early onset menopause.
Dr Bandana Sodhi, obstetrician-gynaecologist at Moolchand Medcity, says:
But if it weren’t hard enough already to battle this on a physical and psychological front, menopausal women also have to contend with a constant barrage of sniggers, bad jokes and an abysmal lack of sensitivity.
Also Read: Why Menstrual Hygiene Should Matter to Men as Much as Women
Dr Sodhi cannot stress enough on the need for people around a woman going through menopause to adjust to the transition:
Dr Sodhi, however, insists that women receive counselling to understand that this is just a temporary phase, and that there is light at the end of the chaotic transitional tunnel.
Dr Seema Hingorrany, clinical psychologist and trauma expert, practises an empowering message of self-help.
When my mother underwent menopause over a decade ago, I was in my teens and not entrusted with the information. Information that she later confided in me – one that consisted of submitting silently to hot flashes and searing joint pains she thought no one would understand. Ask an aunt or an older relative – they will most likely tell you they chose to undergo the transition on their own, in the absence of an outlet.
Not anymore.
A whole new crop of women are now heading straight to a club, built exclusively for them! Club 35+ is the latest addition to the Indian Menopause Society (IMS). Founded by the Society’s President Jaideep Malhotra in 2010, the club has been steadily gaining popularity over the years – with as many as 43 chapters in various Indian cities.
While the club brings together women from all walks of life, it also aims to educate them – not just about menopause, but also about their general well being. One session in Agra was devoted wholly to teaching women ‘how to pick the right bra’. (A life lesson, if ever there was one.)
Most importantly, though? The club aims to foster bonds.
Dr Sodhi and Dr Hingorrany both believe a club like this one is a great idea. While the former stresses on the need for a support system, Dr Hingorrany firmly believes that such support comes best from ‘hanging out with like-minded people’.
And perhaps that is just the space Club 35+ fills. It creates a space for women to just be, sans labels.
After all, when you’ve accepted the unremitting exigencies of your body for a good 40 odd years, surely you owe it yourself to put your feet up, on your own time?
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: undefined