Posted On: 2023-05-30 10:20:49
Menstrual Health is a human rights issue and not just a health one. The right to physical autonomy belongs to each of us. This fundamental freedom is only possible if we can care for our bodies while menstruating. According to UNICEF Every month, 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate. Millions of these girls and women cannot manage their menstrual cycle in a dignified, healthy way.
However, many adolescent girls experience stigma, bullying, and social exclusion during menstruation. Gender inequality, discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, poverty and lack of basic services like toilets and sanitary products can all cause unmet menstrual health and hygiene needs.
Thus, World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated every 28th May and the theme for this year is “Making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030.” The day is observed on the 28th day of the fifth month of the year because menstrual cycles average 28 days in length and people menstruate an average of five days each month.
Still today in India close to 12% of young girls did not know the correct cause of menstruation and said it is a “curse from god” or “caused by disease”, according to a survey conducted by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY). Even access to sanitary pads was limited to many girls with 44.5% admitting to using homemade absorbents or cloth, having difficulty disposing of pads, poor availability and no knowledge of sanitary pads.
In India, a lot of NGOs contribute to creating awareness about menstrual hygiene. Here are 4 ways in which NGOs support and empower girls and women in this cause:
NGOs organize various awareness campaigns to educate people about menstrual hygiene. They conduct events, workshops, and seminars in schools, communities or individuals about menstrual hygiene management.
Many NGOs work towards ensuring access to affordable and sustainable menstrual products. They often distribute sanitary and cloth pads to marginalized communities and school-going girls. This thus helps in addressing period poverty and also motivates girls to attend school during menstruation.
To increase their impact, NGOs work with several other organisations, corporations, and government initiatives. They establish alliances to pool resources and networks and increase their efforts to address menstrual hygiene issues.
NGOs actively engage in fundraising programs to support their cause. They prepare resources, seek donations from individuals, and companies, also organize fundraising events. These fundraising activities are utilized to provide menstrual hygiene products to needy girls and women in society.
NGOs have actively supported ensuring that every girls and women know about their biological processes and that every underprivileged girl should attend school. There should be no stigma around menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
Filaantro a crowdfunding partner along with Child Help Foundation has supported and created awareness programs for the people living in rural areas. School-going girls were educated and provided menstrual hygiene products. Till today, on a pan-India level, we have distributed 3,90,817 sanitary pads in various schools, and communities.
Do join and support our cause so that we can continue helping people in need. You can also start a crowdfunding page on Filaantro. Please share this blog with all your friends and family members to raise awareness.
AUTHOR: ATHIRA PRADEEP NAIR
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