Think of an incident where bleeding is completely neglected and many like you and me have to suffer all the humiliation that comes with it. Twitter user Erin Law tells the story of every girl who had periods during her time at a Turkish airport, only to have Law tell her about normal periods.
incident in the airport
A woman took to her official Twitter handle to describe the trouble she faced at Istanbul airport after she ran out of tampons. Taking to Twitter, Erin Law told the full story. She wrote, “I have a story about menstruation. Especially my menstruation. Which in itself is nothing special because like many people on earth I BLEED. But it is special because it took place in the international airport of Istanbul. Also I am very angry.” She further explains that between two long flights, she tried to buy some tampons during a stopover at the airport. However, neither she nor her husband could find any pharmacy that sold menstrual products. This is after the airport has a total of five terminals. When she asked a man who worked at the duty free store, he told her that it would not be possible to buy tampons at the airport. On approaching the information desk, he was asked to use the emergency medical phone.
getting periods dirty
Turkey’s airport is a new example to confirm suspicions. Turkey stocks its airport with various utilities but forgets to meet the needs of millions of women. About 50% of the world’s population bleeds, but this 50% of the population is invisible to Turkey. In a fancy airport of an urban area, or in a small village as a whole the duration and everything related to it is a big problem.
However, the story of the law should be a lesson for Turkey, and not everyone who still considers women using public utilities. If a woman is using a public place then everything related to her comes with her. The infrastructure should be designed in such a way that it can accommodate the needs of women as well. I hope Turkey will also learn from this and will not allow any other woman to go through the crisis of periods.
