Period. End of Sentence,¬†a film on menstruation shot in India has won the Oscars in Documentary Short Subject category at the 91st Academy Awards. Produced by Guneet Monga and directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, the film talks about how a period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.
The film is about women in India fighting against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation and delving upon the work of real life Pad Man – Arunachalam Muruganantham. The documentary feature is set in Hapur village outside Delhi, where women lead a quiet revolution as they fight against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation. For generations, these women did not have access to sanitary pads, which lead to health issues and girls dropping out from schools.When a sanitary pad vending machine is installed in the village, the women learn to manufacture and market their own pads, empowering their community.
Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton accepted the awards on the teams behalf. Zehtabchi said “I‚Äôm not crying because I‚Äôm on my period or anything. I can‚Äôt believe a film on menstruation won an Oscar.” in her acceptance note.
The award comes a decade after AR Rahman won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009.The 25-minute short film is available on Netfix to watch.
