Ahead of my periods approaching this month, I have been trying to stay positive and beat the sh*t out of cramps this time. Hey, I have been working out. ‘Cuz during my days, I can’t even get out of the bed. Cruelty at its peak, I say. The experience of menstruation differs for every woman out there. While for some women, cramps are quite pain-free, majority of us have less threshold to bear that.

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Why am I talking about this? Because a video of TV actress Hina Khan talking about her experience on the sets of Swayamvar Mika Di Vohti, a reality TV show, caught my attention this morning. 

A Reddit user, u/Scary_Giraffe_4996, posted the video on the platform in which the actress is discussing about periods amongst a few female contestants on the show. Hina calls periods as her “special days”. “I don’t call them my sad days. I really enjoy those days, I feel so good with it,” she adds.

I don’t know why people say, Oh god! Yeah, I got my periods. I don’t know why I feel ye ek ladki ki zindagi ke in fact har mahine ke bahot hi special din hote hain…

-Hina Khan

One of the contestants even points out that some women experience severe mood swings which is why they act like that. But Hina is like…

…and I always say, whenever people tell me hey, what happened? Ae, I am in my special days.

-Hina Khan

The video ends with a female contestant calling Hina’s opinion, “Awww, that’s so cute. Very nice.” And everyone claps.

And I just can’t relate to her at all. Not only me, even netizens can’t. While many Redditors slammed Hina for her statements, some of them shared their periods experience on the thread.

1. I cannot function as a normal human being

I’ve seen some of my friends even faint during their periods, I cry because of the pain and I cannot function as a normal human during the first 3 days.

-blue308genes

2. Everyone reacts different  to periods

Hina discover everybody reacts different to periods challenge  

-WeakStressAnxiety

3. Tell this to women who have PCOS

So lame, boomer energy. Tell this to women who get severe cramps, women who have PCOS. Women who get mood swings and anxiety. What a tone deaf statement.  

-WitChBLadE_in

4. Women suffering from endometriosis would like to have a word

Women with endometriosis would like to have a word with this lady. I have a family friend who had to go the hospital because her pain was so bad. Luckily she had a good doctor who believed her rather than saying it’s normal period pain. Pain that makes you faint and throw up is not normal and no one should have to go through it. 

-pitterpatter7

5. This fairy tale description is stupid

I once almost collapsed in my washroom. On my worst days , I spend 30-40 mins on the toilet seat in the hope that cramps would get better. On one particular occasion I had to get a painkiller shot at 2 am because I was in such excruciating pain that I was curled up on the floor for 1 hr straight. I literally do not get out of my bed /bedroom unless it’s an emergency for 5 whole days because I have terrible terrible mood swings. Talking about period, raising awareness is great. But giving it some sort of fairy tale description is stupid. Not everyone is as lucky as Hina.

-Melodic-Poet

6. It feels like a monster scratching my uterus

This is so infuriating to me. This is how period pain is normalised for menstruating people. It is NOT normal that you’re told to embrace when it literally feels like a monster down there scratching my uterus. And this is why it takes YEARS to get diagnosis of diseases like endometriosis. What an imbecile woman she is.  

-Mthrfuckntrainwreck

7. Ye special kabse?

Ye special kab se hone lag gaya?  

-HitAndTrial3

8. Nothing special, please shut up

I am on my periods and i watched this right now! There is NOTHING SPECIAL! PLEASE SHUT UP.

-Cherrywine4

9. I cry for my life during those days

And then there’s me, jo apne un “special days” mein apni jaan k liye lar rahi hoti hu.  

-Old-Duty-7551

10. Special days can turn into dardnaak days

Didi apko PCOS hote toh samjhti…special days ban jaate dardnaak days!  

-Interesting_Humour333

11. Don’t want to celebrate our “special days”

This is the cringiest shit I have ever seen. Most women are dying of period cramps madam. We dont want to celebrate our “special” days. Can someone pls call her out on this bullshit?  

-peraltiago44

12. I fainted during research presentation in college

I’m getting flashbacks to when I fainted in while giving a research presentation in college because of cramps.  

-Budget_Map1812

13. Parabola of pukes on Hina’s words

Parabola of pukes on this statement.  

-Falana_Dhimkana

14. Why they are so insufferable?

Why is everyone in this video so insufferable… God.  

-HappyOrca2020

15. Why can’t we call periods as periods?

What did I just saw. Just to sound different from the crowd she is saying such crap. And I don’t understand what is wrong with calling periods as periods.

-Internal-Football786

16. She is glorifying female discomfort

She just wanted to stand out & further the misogynistic agenda of glorifying female discomfort.

-misogynist-slayer

What surprises me personally the most is the fact how Hina Khan imposes her experience on millions of females who have/will come across the video. ‘Cuz Hina, periods might be “special days” for you, the experience isn’t the same for everyone which is why many of us crave for period leaves too.

You can handle the pain, well great, many of us can’t. In fact, mujhe toh yamraj dikhai de jate hain! And I quote the aforementioned Redditor, “Raising awareness is great. But giving it some sort of fairy tale description is stupid.”