CB BureauThe disturbing revelations of a study, done by research company AC Nielsen along with NGO Plan India, highlight the dismal state of hygiene in the country. In a shocking revelation, it is found that only 12 per cent of over 335 million menstruating women in India use sanitary napkins. The study made known that more than 68 per cent women residing in rural India cannot afford sanitary napkins that are sold in the market.
About 81 per cent of rural women, according the research, use cheap unsterilized clothes, sand, husk, and ash as alternatives to napkins. These alternatives can severely impact their health and reproductive ability.
‘Menses is one of the most taboo subjects in India. There is a strong relationship between practices during menstruation and the prevalence of reproductive-tract infections. In many parts of India, women do not even have enough clothes to cover their body. In many villages, women do not use anything during menses and some do not even take a bath for days because there is no extra pair of clothing to change into,’ Dr Anjali Capoor, a gynaecologist at Fortis Hospital, told The Times of India.
As per medical experts, reproductive-tract infection is more prevalent among women with unhygienic sanitary practices. The lack of sanitary hygiene also impacts girls’ education. The study reported that rural adolescent girls have to miss up to 50 days of schooling in a year due to inadequate menstrual care.
Goonj makes affordable sanitary napkins for underprivileged women
In an effort to provide cheap sanitary napkins to poor women, the non-government organization Goonj collects unused clothes from urban households to manufacture, among other things, cheap sanitary napkins. Priced at five rupees for a pack of five, these innovative napkins provide a dignified solution to a traumatic personal problem of underprivileged women.
An initiative ‘Not Just a Piece of Cloth’, started by Goonj about five years ago, has been encouraging people to donate clothes that are transformed into sanitary napkins by the NGO’s volunteers.
‘We figured out that the clothes that we collect can help in making sanitary pads after a due process. Women get these napkins in return for work that includes making these napkins. We also sell napkins at a very affordable price (Re 1 for each napkin) and educate women about their use,’ said Anshu Gupta, founder of Goonj.
Individuals, education institutes, and corporate groups help Goonj in collecting nearly 50,000 kilograms of recyclable waste material including clothes every month. Other than the napkins, the NGO makes products including backpacks, mobile phone pouches, neck ties, skipping ropes, and sofa cushions from waste material. The proceeds from the sales of these products help in sustaining the NGO.