In India, menstrual hygiene products are closely tied to issues of privacy, accessibility, and utter discretion. Women are urged to talk in whispers about ‘periods’ and it is often addressed as ‘that time of the month’, so the stigma attached to menstrual hygiene products is all the more severe. A lot of us are unaware of the various sanitary products available at our disposal due to the stigma attached to them and the lack of information available.
To tackle such an issue, we at Umang Foundation Trust conducted a talk to educate the women at Golibar, a small slum area in Santacruz about Menstrual Cups and also discuss other issues the women face related to menstrual hygiene.
When Dr. Ritu Tated first broached the subject of menstrual cups the women were either nervous or hesitant to try it out since they were only accustomed to sanitary pads and were a little reluctant to use menstrual cups since they deemed them as harmful. However, as Dr. Ritu explained how menstrual cups work and assured them that they weren’t harmful, a few of them warmed up to the idea of using them.
Menstrual Cups are not only environmentally sustainable since they can be reused for over 10 years, but they can also be worn for 12 hours at a stretch which is very beneficial to women who work for long hours, as they can efficiently use menstrual cups without worrying about changing the sanitary pads or disposing of them. Unlike sanitary pads which increase susceptibility to infections and rashes, menstrual cups risk no such thing, they allow free and unrestricted movement which appealed to the women in Golibar and what inclined them to try menstrual cups. At the end of our talk, we also conducted a pad distribution drive, where we distributed over 100 pads along with giving out menstrual cups.
We at Umang Foundation Trust strive to provide women with appropriate information and resources through the distribution of pads, menstrual cups, and other resources to help them with their mensuration cycle. Through our WHSHEP (Women Health, Sanitation, and Hygiene Educational Program) campaign we have educated over 12,000 women about menstrual hygiene and distributed over 2,00,000 pads in order to walk closer to our goal. Therefore, help us by donating and joining us in spreading awareness about women's hygiene by providing resources to the less fortunate.
Know more: https://www.umangfoundationtrust.org/whshep
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