Young girls are often unaware of menstruation until menarche. At menarche they are met with fright and confusion and have so many questions but are unable to get answers from anywhere. They are given home fabrics or grass to manage menstruation and are made to believe in myths that have been going around since ages.
Young girls often fear leaks and to avoid embarrassment, stay home for 4-5 days every month. Many times they give up on their education due to increased absenteeism. Not only does it affect their education but also using unhygienic means to manage menstruation result in infections and illnesses.
Girls are restricted to a room, are not allowed to worship in temples and enter the kitchen. In some rural places, females are made to stay in mud houses for the length of their periods and are treated as untouchable. Due to lack of education and awareness they are unable to break free from these taboos.
Our projects would consist of menstrual health and hygiene awareness sessions in a chosen area/village/school or any place. Additionally we offer sponsors the opportunity for reusable pad distribution amongst the beneficiaries which would enable women to manage menstruation effectively and hygienically.
Some women were very happy to meet a gynaecologist for the very first time. They were taught about how they can maintain hygiene while working in farms. We encouraged them to live their lives confidently and tried to diminish the stigma around menstruation. They seemed to have been living in a world of myths and were very surprised to learn that what they had been taught by their families about menstruation was not true.
We thank Pavitrementhe, an exporter of organic products and essential oils and Dr. Bronner’s, offering cruelty and vegan soaps in Europe for their CSR initiative and giving us a chance to touch the lives of women in Bareilly. These women were extremely happy to receive a pack of reusable sanitary pads by ReliefPad and have given us positive feedback after using these pads.
