"Be and Make- Be the Change and Make the Change believes that access to healthcare is a basic human right. We are working to ensure that rural communities in India have access to education about menstruation, taboos, and myths associated with it. Despite significant progress in recent years, the challenges facing menstrual hygiene in India remain significant. In this blog post, we will discuss the current state of menstrual hygiene in India, the challenges facing rural communities, and the solutions we are working on to improve this issue in the country. "
In rural India, only 42% of adolescent women exclusively used hygienic methods.
Menstrual hygiene in rural parts of India is a complex issue. In many rural areas, women and girls face challenges when it comes to managing their menstrual health. Limited access to resources, cultural taboos, and misinformation, all contribute to the overall lack of proper menstrual hygiene practices. In this article, we will discuss this issue and how we help to eradicate this.
Lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities: many households lack proper toilets or sanitation infrastructure. Not only forcing women and girls to rely on unhygienic alternatives such as open fields or shared community toilets but it also makes it difficult for women to manage their periods safely and with dignity due to lack of privacy.
Availability and Affordability: Due to the limited availability of menstrual hygiene products many women rely on old rags, cloth, or even ash, husk, or sand to absorb menstrual flow. This not only leads to discomfort but also leads to health risks such as Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and Reproductive Tract Infections (RTIs).
The Stigma: Menstruation is often considered impure and associated with shame and secrecy; this makes it difficult for women to access and purchase affordable commercial sanitary pads. One prevalent myth is that menstrual blood is impure. This leads to the belief that women should not touch certain objects or engage in specific activities during their periods. This includes exclusion from religious practices, and social events, and restrictions on many activities.
After seeing these, numbers the Government programs, NGOs, and grassroots organizations started working for the promotion of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in the age group of 11-19 years in rural areas.
The major objectives of the initiative were:
To increase awareness among adolescent girls.
To increase access to and use of high-quality sanitary napkins.
To ensure safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environmentally safe manner.
To help the students to continue their learning journey, breaking the chain of myths, taboos, and other hindrances.
The after-effect of this suffering was that the Indian Government started taking the initiative to address the lack of education regarding menstrual hygiene in rural areas. One of them was the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme which was launched in 2011 to promote menstrual hygiene education and increase awareness among adolescent girls in rural areas.
Indian Government also launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in 2014, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter) in 2015, Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (National Adolescent Health Program) in 2014 and more aiming to increase the awareness among adolescent girls age 11-19 years.
In alignment with the vision of the government schemes, Be and Make started the programs in the schools where we are delivering hygiene classes to our adolescent kids through one of our flagship programs "Maryada" (Dignity, in English). The main focus is to provide the students with proper knowledge that can change the behavior of the girls, avoid diseases, and promote a healthier society, keeping in view the vision of Sustainable Development Goals.
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