Spreading Menstrual Hygiene Awareness at Grassroots Level

To this day, I remember as a young girl how I used to enjoy watching the little pieces of cloth hanging outside my house-helps’ quarters on the terrace swaying in the wind and then predicting the direction they would sway in next. I was puzzled as to why they would be there on the clothesline day after day and then suddenly disappear, only to return the next month. Then one day, they disappeared only to never come back. Today, I know why they disappeared. My house helps had been using rags while they were menstruating, and once my mother came to know of this, she introduced them to sanitary pads and ensured that they never went back to using rags.

Cut to 2021, my mother and I,- organised a free medical check-up camp in our housing complex for all staff members and house helps. After the reports were released, we realised many women had rashes and infections and were bleeding profusely from their nether regions. A few women were detected with cervical cancer, while others were symptomatic. This was extremely disheartening, mainly because most of these women had either been too afraid and ashamed to talk about their conditions or thought it was perfectly normal.

This was when I decided to get more involved and see what I could do in my limited capacity to help these women and the cause. I took every opportunity to speak with women who work in urban households to try and understand their issues with menstruation in spite of inhibitions to talk about it. I found out that while it is recommended to change sanitary pads every 3-4 hours, the women who work at construction sites or clean and cook in urban households usually change once a day. Some women still use dirty scraps of cloth, sand and ash while menstruating. Many were unaware of menstrual hygiene, the precautions they should take, and the hygiene they should maintain. Hearing these gruesome stories and noticing the women teach their daughters the same things they had learnt about menstruation, I wanted to help stop this cycle and spread menstrual hygiene awareness.

I started by organising an awareness drive in my housing complex. Many of the NGOs I spoke with were also working towards promoting and distributing biodegradable sanitary pads made of bamboo and banana leaves. That is when I also started to look into organising a distribution campaign. I read articles, talked to house help, and realised that biodegradable menstrual cups would be a better option. They are far more economical in the long run than sanitary pads. Moreover, if these women switched to menstrual cups, the chances of rashes and infection due to menstruation would be next to none.

With the help of an NGO, I raised funds and organised my first Menstrual Hygiene Awareness and Menstrual Cups Distribution camp for underserved women in March 2021. Since then, I have conducted several awareness drives for these women, taking every opportunity to raise funds and organise camps. During each of our camps, we talk about menstruation and the myths surrounding it, menstrual hygiene, the usage of sanitary pads, and then the benefits of menstrual cups. While the main motive of conducting these drives is to promote menstrual hygiene, I also introduce the idea of menstrual cups and distribute them to the women interested. After that, I create a group chat where we send articles and videos for them to watch. We also encourage them to share their issues and doubts surrounding menstruation. The women share their experiences with using a menstrual cup which encourages others to try it too. For me, the key objective is not to distribute alone but ensure awareness and adoption of the Menstrual Cup. I follow up with individual calls to the women to ensure they have used the cups for at least two cycles. So, the success criterion for me has been spreading awareness and “adoption” of over 250 menstrual cups.

My experiences and journey with these women have been absolutely wonderful.

Taboos and social stigma surrounding menstruation have always plagued Indian society. Menstruating women are often considered impure or untouchable, leading to exclusion from various activities and spaces. These awareness camps can help immensely in challenging these deeply ingrained beliefs. They promote open discussions, encouraging women and girls to share their experiences and educate others about menstruation. By dispelling myths and highlighting the importance of menstrual hygiene, these awareness drives are gradually breaking down the barriers of shame and stigma.

Promoting menstrual hygiene awareness at the grassroots level in India is an important step towards ensuring women's overall health and empowerment. Significant progress can be made by challenging taboos, empowering women with knowledge, providing access to affordable sanitary products, and engaging men and boys in the conversation. Only by transforming households and neighbourhoods into spaces that prioritise menstrual hygiene can we create a society where every woman has the opportunity to manage her menstrual health with dignity and confidence.

This article was authored by Dia Sarin (14 years) of Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram