Menstruating woman runs marathon without tampon to break taboos around periods

In a daring move, one woman ran an entire 42.195 km London marathon during her period without a sanitary napkin or tampon, to break the stigma around menstruation.

Drummer and feminist Kiran Gandhi, participated in the marathon to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. Cheering her on all the check point were her very supportive father and brother, who wore cheer tee-shirts.

 

Hugging my dad at the mile 18 cheer point!!!!

A photo posted by Kiran Gandhi (@madamegandhi) on Apr 26, 2015 at 4:34pm PDT

Gandhi, a Harvard graduate documented the experience on her blog."I ran the whole marathon with my period blood running down my legs," she wrote, making a statement that the taboos around women's period were irrelevant. 

She further added that many women still don't have access to sanitary napkins and tampons."I ran with blood dripping down my legs for sisters who don't have access to tampons and sisters who, despite cramping and pain, hide it away and pretend like it doesn't exist," she wrote.

Even though Gandhi's move was unconventional, she did manage to start a conversation about the taboos when it comes to menstruation.

Menstrual taboos are the harshest form of sexism and there is nothing shameful about periods, as it is a natural part of a woman's life. "On the marathon course, sexism can be beaten. Where the stigma of a woman's period is irrelevant, and we can re-write the rules as we choose. Where a woman's comfort supersedes that of the observer," Gandhi wrote.

Gandhi wrote a special message to her family and friend who supported her unconditionally. "The main message I walked away from this experience was how much being there for someone else in a totally selfless way can carry them through a difficult time."

 

26 miles | 26 years | 26th of April

A photo posted by Kiran Gandhi (@madamegandhi) on Apr 26, 2015 at 1:00pm PDT