Dukhini
Sardar, 16, is the first matriculate not just in her tribal community
but also among 72 villages in Purulia district, West Bengal. Yet, she
knew nothing about how to cope with 'those days' and was too embarrassed
to ask anyone.
So, for five days every month, she would sneak out in the dark and
surreptitiously wash pieces of old cloth she used during menstruation so
that they could be reused. With water being scarce and having to walk
two kilometers to fetch it, it was not hygiene that was a priority for
Dukhini but the need to somehow wash and hang the cloth pieces in some
dim corner where no one could see them. Never did she realize that this
practice made her vulnerable to reproductive tract infections.
In Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, when Asha, 15, would find
some of her 'dupattas' (scarves) missing, she didn't
create a fuss. She knew at once that one of her hostel
mates was going through the 'monthly problem' because
she too, had quietly done the same when she had needed
protection. Also, she knew from experience that it
would not be very comfortable or hygienic but felt
embarrassed to talk about it.
"It doesn't matter whether the girls are from villages
in West Bengal or Madhya Pradesh, their problems are
the same. Issues associated with menstruation are
never discussed openly. Even after attaining menarche,
very little information is provided to young girls
about the physiological processes and the hygienic
practices to be followed because of the taboos
associated with it," says Santha Sheela Nair,
Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development.
It was this lack of information on the process of
menstruation and understanding on how to manage it
hygienically that prompted UNICEF (United Nations
Children's Fund) to design a booklet on menstrual
health and hygiene. The 38- page booklet, 'Sharing
Simple Facts' released on International Women's Day
this year, demystifies myths and taboos related to
menstruation and tackles queries on physical and
emotional changes through the Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) format. It is visually attractive,
complete with illustrations and color coding for each
section, to catch the attention of youngsters. UNICEF
will distribute it through NGOs, Self Help Groups,
development partners and various government agencies.
It will be translated into Hindi and other local
languages such as Tamil and Bengali soon to enable
greater dissemination.
"Overall, a woman spends approximately 2,100 days
menstruating, which is equivalent to almost six years
of her life. Good menstrual hygiene is, therefore,
crucial for the health, education and dignity of girls
and women. This booklet is aimed at giving them
dignity," contends Lizette Burgers, Chief, Water and
Environmental Sanitation, UNICEF.
If taboos associated with menstruation had been
demolished years ago it might have helped her to
continue playing her favorite sport, says P. Amudha,
District Collector, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. "I
suffered when I was in school as my parents did not
let me play 'kabaddi' (traditional Indian sport)
during those days because of all the myths surrounding
menstruation. So when the Total Sanitation Campaign
(TSC) was initiated, it gave us the opportunity to
address this issue," she says.
(TSC, initiated in 1999 by the Ministry of Rural
Development, is a comprehensive programme to ensure
sanitation facilities in rural areas with broader goal
to eradicate the practice of open defecation. It gives
strong emphasis on Capacity Building and Hygiene
Education for effective behavior change with
involvement of NGOs, and so on. The key intervention
areas are Individual household latrines (IHHL), School
Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE), Community
Sanitary Complex, Anganwadi toilets.)
So Nair, then secretary at the rural development
ministry in Tamil Nadu, decided to promote menstrual
hygiene in conjunction with the sanitation programme
that went beyond merely construction of toilets. She
hit upon the idea of promoting usage of sanitary
napkins as a hygienic mode of managing menstruation.
Her department then roped in self-help groups (SGHs)
and trained them to produce low cost napkins to
facilitate its usage among rural girls and women.
Training was also given for safe disposal of the
napkins through incinerators, which were built in
schools and fired once a week. For those who were
unable to build incinerators, training was given to
dig small pits and burn the napkins with paper.
Initially, selling the napkins was a problem. Then
local NGOs and 'panchayats' (village councils) in the
state, too, pitched in with the awareness programmes
and with innovative marketing techniques, including
offers for custom-made sanitary napkins and financial
incentives on its sales. In fact, Chennai-based Cheema
Foundation interacted with girls in various schools in
the state and also provided vending machines that
dispensed single sanitary napkins. Demand for napkins
rose as a consequence. Schools, maternity wards and
local chemists began to stock them as awareness
increased.
It was not just SHG members and students who began
selling sanitary napkins, but even women like Jagdamba
(who is in her early 30s), whose primary job was
door-to-door garbage collection in Karur district of
Tamil Nadu, where she is based. She became a sales
agent and says that this side job enhanced her
earnings by Rs 2,000 (US$1=Rs 40) every month and
enabled her to send her children to school. "I also
bought earrings, a TV and grinder along with my
earnings," she adds.
In fact, the popularity of low cost sanitary napkins
produced by the SHGs has given the glossier and more
expensive packs produced by multinational companies
(MNCs) a run for their money. According to UNICEF,
MNCs have been forced to slash the prices of their
products considerably in an effort to retain their
market share.
So impressed was UNICEF with this pioneering effort by
the Tamil Nadu sanitation programmes, especially the
production of low cost sanitary napkin, that in 2007,
the organization together with the union and state
governments organized a training of representatives of
SHGs, NGOs and government departments from 17 states
by Tamil Nadu NGOs. The states of West Bengal, Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh have already replicated the Tamil
Nadu model and others like Madhya Pradesh are planning
to follow soon.
Today, Dukhini and Asha no longer wait for nightfall
nor do they sneak out to wash used cloth pieces. The
days of cutting up bed sheets or stealing a friend's
'dupattas' are over. With the availability of sanitary
napkins for just Rs 2, menstruation is no longer a
dreaded period.
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Dukhini
Sardar, 16, is the first matriculate not just in her tribal community
but also among 72 villages in Purulia district, West Bengal. Yet, she
knew nothing about how to cope with 'those days' and was too embarrassed
to ask anyone.