Punita Nagar-Vaidya
In 2016, the Union Government informed about the preparation of a policy called 'Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School Going Girls' and its approval by the Union Ministry of Health. Under this policy, free sanitary pads will be provided to girls from class 6 to class 12 in schools. The purpose of bringing this policy is to remove the barriers that prevent girls from attending school during their menstrual cycle. This policy says that it will help in making the girl students independent. A survey on the situation of adolescent girls in India found that a quarter of girls do not go to school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of toilets, and this situation is more prevalent in rural areas. However, this is not just the situation in India. There is very little awareness about menstrual hygiene all over the world. The reason for this situation is the narrow mindedness of most of the people. Even today it is believed in many places in the country that a girl or a woman should not go to any place of worship or kitchen during her period because a girl or a woman is impure during this time. No offense intended as religious beliefs are attached to this idea but the scientific fact is that periods mean your body is maturing naturally and you are not pregnant. This has nothing to do with sanctity. From a scientific point of view, there is nothing wrong in a girl going to the place of worship or the kitchen during her period. However, since this issue is related to the religious belief of every family, before discussing or talking about it, every girl should take a step by considering the religious belief of the family members and coordinating their feelings with her own thoughts. School girls do not have basic knowledge Green Pencil Foundation, a non-governmental organization, undertook a special project to find out the knowledge about menstruation and hygiene among school-going girls. Under this, 800 girls studying in urban centers like Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai and Hyderabad were specially surveyed by asking different questions through Google Forms and offline means. The findings of this survey point to an alarming reality. Some important findings of this survey are as follows. Á 81.3 percent of girls reported that they were most comfortable discussing their periods with only their mothers. This only shows that he feels shy to discuss this issue with any other family member. Á 40.9 percent of respondents indicated that they prefer to skip school during their periods. These figures reflect the troubling reality of the present. Although India is emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the dropout rate among girls is high due to embarrassment associated with menstruation. Á 18.8 percent girls admitted that they do not know how to use pads properly. Á 8.6 percent girls believed that menstruation is not good for their health, while 17.8 percent girls had no basic knowledge about menstruation. Á 34.4 percent girls admitted that they are unaware of the complete menstrual cycle. UNICEF's Shocking Statistics Some time ago UNICEF and WHO conducted a campaign about menstrual hygiene. An analysis of global data on menstrual health and hygiene in schools as part of this campaign has revealed startling statistics. Worldwide, only 2 out of 5 schools offer monthly health education. 1 in 3 schools globally have dustbins for disposal of sanitary pads in girls' toilets. This system is found in only 1 in 5 schools in less developed countries and only 1 in 10 schools in underdeveloped countries. Menstrual products are not always readily available, many people cannot afford them. Only 1 in 8 schools in sub-Saharan Africa provide menstrual materials for free or for purchase. In many countries, adolescent schoolgirls do not have clean toilets or private spaces to use menstrual products at school. Millions of girls around the world are unaware or unprepared for menstruation before their first period. For example, a study in Ethiopia showed that less than half of the girls surveyed knew about their periods before their first time. There is no national data on how many teachers are trained to teach about menstrual hygiene. This itself shows that this training is not taken seriously. The fact is that teachers play a crucial role in imparting accurate information and creating a supportive environment, but without proper training they are unable to do anything concrete.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
