Read Farida’s story on how she handled her first period.

I was 11 years old when I started my period. It started with a stomach ache. I confided in two of my sisters who are 16 and 14 years old. One of them gave me a drug. She said it would help reduce the pain.

After that they started making fun of me. They would pull on my dress and ask innocently, what is wrong, and it just made me feel more self-conscious. It didn't help that our male cousin was at our home on that day.

Then there was the stain on my pant. It made me think someone used my pant.


I decided to ask my sisters if they used my pant. They looked at me in a funny way saying no-one would have worn my pant. They wanted to know why I was asking but I was too scared to tell them. I knew they would make fun of me.

I needed to know what was wrong. This made me start acting funny. My elder sister who is married noticed my behaviour. She asked what was wrong. But I was not sure on how to tell her.

I told her a red ink had stained my pant. She laughed before telling me it was my period.

She gave me a sanitary pad. She showed me how to use it. After that she sat me down to explain somethings. She even said I can get pregnant now. She asked me to take better care of myself. She said I should take my bath regularly when on my period. She also said I need to change my pad at least every 4-6 hours.

She told me it might take some time for me to get use to this new part of myself. She however asked me not to worry.

I wanted to ask her other questions. But I felt a bit scared to ask. I kept a lot of things to myself.

I confided in some of my friends. They answered some of my questions.


That period was a crazy time for me. But all that has passed now.

Although it would have been nice if I had an adult I could freely open up to then. I guess I was just not lucky to have someone like that around me when I started my period.

You don’t have to feel alone like Farida when in need of someone to talk to about things like your period. You can find someone you feel comfortable with around you like an auntie, or you can even talk to big sister.

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