This is a teenage girl from India who's tired of staying silent and I'm not holding back anymore. I may be a teenager but I'm not too young to know what's wrong with our society. It's high time we start talking about what we're taught to hide.  

Across india, millions of girls and women suffer silently with period pain, PCOS, endometriosis, hormonal issues and more.                                                                                  

we're told it's "normal" and that we should deal with it, even when the pain makes it hard to sit, walk or even breathe, we are Still expected to ignore our pain and our health and concentrate, give everything out 100 percent, show upto school , attend classes, write exams and smile through cramps without any complaint.                                                                     

The silence is everywhere. Even talking about periods in front of boys is "unacceptable" and that silence is exactly the problem.

PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) is a hormonal condition that affects 1 in 10 women in India  and many don’t even know they have it. It can cause irregular periods, intense cramps, hormonal acne, weight changes, mood swings, and even long-term fertility issues.

I know this because I had PCOS too. And during that time, I struggled through unbearable pain and heavy periods. Even though some people knew what I was going through, I was still judged for missing things, frequently taking leaves as its stated "normal", for not having energy or for complaining too much.

And that's exactly when i realised something, if I, a teenage girl, was expected to suffer silently and “keep it together,” how many other girls are forced to do the same, every single day?

It’s time we stop normalizing pain and start recognizing it.

I’m calling for schools, institutions, and society at large to acknowledge menstrual/period pain and hormonal conditions like PCOS and endometriosis as valid health concerns, not just “girl problems” to be ignored.

I want schools to offer period leave or sick leaves caused by periods. I want awareness programs that openly talk about menstrual health not just for girls, but for everyone, including boys, so the understanding becomes normal and not a taboo.

I want teachers, staff, and families to stop telling girls to “act it out” and instead start listening, supporting, and caring.

Because we’re not asking for special treatment. We’re just asking for basic understanding.

Why now? Because we’ve stayed silent long enough.

Girls are still judged for their pain, ignored in classrooms, and expected to push through serious health conditions like it's no big deal. If we don’t speak up now, nothing will change. not for us, not for the next generation.

We’re growing up in a society that teaches us to hide our pain. But if we raise our voices together, we can build one that listens.

Sign this petition if you believe our pain deserves attention, not silence.

Sign it for the girls who cry in school washrooms and still walk back to class.

Sign it for every teenager who was told to “dont over react.”

Sign it because we deserve better and change starts with us.

— The Red Silence

✍🏻 Sreenidhi Kamat, a teenager who refuses to stay silent.