Understanding Menstrual Hygiene: A Key to Health and Dignity

Understanding Menstrual Hygiene: A Key to Health and Dignity By : Irmak 

Menstrual hygiene is a vital aspect of health and well-being for millions of women and girls

worldwide. However, despite being a natural and essential part of life, menstruation is often

shrouded in stigma, myths, and misinformation, leading to significant health challenges and

social barriers. This article explores the importance of menstrual hygiene, the challenges faced,

and the steps that can be taken to promote better practices and understanding.

What Is Menstrual Hygiene?

Menstrual hygiene refers to the practices associated with the management of menstruation,

including the use of clean menstrual products, access to adequate sanitation facilities, and

proper disposal of used products. It also encompasses the broader need for education and

awareness about menstruation and menstrual health.

Maintaining good menstrual hygiene is crucial for preventing infections, managing discomfort,

and ensuring that women and girls can participate fully in their daily activities, including school,

work, and social interactions.

The Importance of Menstrual Hygiene

1. Health and Well-being: Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to a range of health problems,

including urinary tract infections (UTIs), reproductive tract infections (RTIs), and even

complications that can impact fertility. Using clean menstrual products and maintaining

good hygiene practices reduces the risk of these infections and promotes overall health.

2. Education and Empowerment: Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is closely

linked to educational outcomes. Girls who do not have access to adequate menstrual

products or sanitation facilities may miss school during their periods, leading to gaps in

their education and affecting their long-term prospects. “Qualitative studies report girls’

fear and humiliation from leaking of blood and body odor, which lead menstruating girls

to absent themselves from school, with little quantitative data confirming this. Cultural

taboos add to girls’ difficulties, preventing them from seeking help, and imposing

restrictions on their diet and activities when menstruating.” By ensuring that girls have

the resources and knowledge they need, we can empower them to stay in school and

achieve their full potential.

3. Dignity and Self-esteem: Stigma and shame surrounding menstruation can have a

profound impact on a girl’s self-esteem and social interactions. Promoting open

conversations about menstruation and providing access to menstrual products helps to

break down these barriers, allowing women and girls to maintain their dignity and feel

confident during their periods.

Challenges in Menstrual Hygiene Management

Despite its importance, menstrual hygiene management faces significant challenges,

particularly in low-income and developing regions:

1. Lack of Access to Menstrual Products: Many women and girls, especially in rural

areas, lack access to affordable and reliable menstrual products. This can lead to the

use of unhygienic materials, such as rags, leaves, or even ash, which increase the risk

of infections and discomfort. “A substantial north-south disparity was found in the

exclusive use of hygienic methods, where the hygienic methods use is considerably low

in the central districts of rural India.”

2. Inadequate Sanitation Facilities: Proper sanitation facilities are essential for managing

menstruation with dignity. In many parts of the world, schools, workplaces, and public

spaces do not have clean, private toilets or facilities for washing and changing. This lack

of infrastructure can make it difficult for women and girls to manage their periods

effectively.

3. Cultural Stigma and Taboos: In many cultures, menstruation is considered a taboo

subject, surrounded by myths and misinformation. These cultural norms can prevent

women and girls from seeking the information and resources they need, leading to

feelings of shame and isolation. In some cases, menstruating women and girls are even

excluded from social activities or forced into seclusion, further perpetuating the stigma.

4. Education Gaps: Comprehensive education about menstruation and menstrual hygiene

is often lacking in schools and communities. Many girls receive little or no information

about menstruation before they experience their first period, leading to confusion, fear,

and unhealthy practices. “In a systematic review and meta-analysis on menstrual

hygiene management among adolescent girls in India, it was found that strengthening of

MHM programmes in India is needed. Education on awareness, access to hygienic

absorbents, and disposal of MHM items need to be addressed.”

Steps to Improve Menstrual Hygiene

Addressing the challenges of menstrual hygiene requires a multifaceted approach that includes

education, infrastructure, and policy changes. Here are some key steps that can be taken:

1. Education and Awareness: Providing comprehensive education about menstruation is

critical. Schools should include menstrual health in their curricula, ensuring that both girls

and boys understand the biological process and the importance of hygiene.

Community-based programs can also play a role in breaking down stigma and

encouraging open conversations about menstruation.

2. Improved Access to Menstrual Products: Governments, NGOs, and private sector

partners can work together to ensure that menstrual products are affordable and

accessible to all women and girls. This may include distributing free or financially

supported products in schools and communities, as well as promoting the use of

sustainable options like menstrual cups and reusable pads. “Empowering adolescent

women and promoting their education would yield greater results in increasing the level

of exclusive use of hygienic methods in rural India.”

3. Better Sanitation Facilities: Investing in sanitation infrastructure is essential for

effective menstrual hygiene management. This includes building clean, private toilets

with water and soap for washing, as well as facilities for the safe disposal of menstrual

products. Schools, workplaces, and public spaces must prioritize these needs to support

women and girls.

4. Policy and Advocacy: Governments must recognize menstrual hygiene as a public

health and human rights issue. This includes implementing policies that ensure access

to menstrual products, providing menstrual education in schools, and addressing the

broader issues of gender inequality that contribute to stigma and discrimination.

Conclusion

Menstrual hygiene is not just a health issue; it is a matter of dignity, empowerment, and equality.

“By addressing the challenges of menstrual hygiene management, we can ensure that all

women and girls have the opportunity to lead healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives.” It is time to

break the silence, dispel the myths, and create a world where menstruation is understood,

managed, and respected as a natural and essential part of life.

Sources:

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14622-7 : Menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent

women in rural India: a cross-sectional study, Singh et al. BMC Public Health

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01082-2 : The state of adolescent menstrual health in lowand

middle-income countries and suggestions for future action and research, Plesons et al.

Reprod Health

What is early puberty?

Understanding Early Puberty: Causes, Implications, and Management

Early puberty, also known as precocious puberty, is a condition where children experience the

physical and hormonal changes of puberty at an unusually young age. Typically, puberty begins

between ages 9 and 14 for girls and 10 and 15 for boys. When these changes occur before age

9 in girls or before age 10 in boys, it is considered early puberty.

Causes of Early Puberty

The causes of early puberty can be categorized into central and peripheral types. Central

precocious puberty is triggered by an early activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal

(HPG) axis, which regulates puberty. This can result from genetic factors, tumors, or lesions in

the brain, but in many cases, the exact cause remains unknown. Peripheral precocious puberty

occurs when sex hormones are produced outside the normal control of the HPG axis, often due

to conditions such as adrenal gland disorders or ovarian cysts.

Implications for Physical and Emotional Health

Early puberty can have several implications for a child’s health. Physically, it can lead to

accelerated growth, which might result in a shorter adult height due to early closure of growth

plates. Emotional and psychological effects can be significant as well. Children undergoing early

puberty might struggle with body image issues and social challenges, including feeling different

from their peers or facing premature sexual attention.

Management and Treatment

Management of early puberty often involves addressing the underlying cause, if identifiable. In

cases where no specific cause is found, treatment may focus on halting or slowing the

progression of puberty to allow for more normal growth and development. This is typically done

using medications which inhibit the release of sex hormones.

It is also crucial to provide emotional support and counseling to children experiencing early

puberty. They may need help coping with the social and emotional changes that come with early

development. Educating parents and caregivers about the condition and involving them in the

treatment plan is essential for effective management.

Conclusion

Early puberty is a complex condition with potential physical and emotional impacts on children.

Understanding the causes and implications is vital for appropriate management. Early

intervention and support can help mitigate the effects and ensure that children navigate this

challenging period with greater ease and well-being.

Email : communications@heeals.org

Whatssapp : +91-7982316660

GENDER EQUALITY: Education for everyone to know who we are

GENDER EQUALITY: Education for everyone to know who we are By Giada . 

There is a slogan which says: “If you educate a man, you educate an individual; but if you educate a woman, you educate a family, a nation”. It was coined by Malcolm X, an African-American revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist. It was a slogan that allowed educating many women. But how can we define education? Etymologically term comes from the Latin verb educĕre that is means «to draw out, "to take out" or "to take out what is inside". 

In this way it is important that everyone has the opportunity to access education, so everyone can discover what is inside themselves. And discover that, it means knowing the person who he/she. We can see how education develops the person and the mind. Education with the environment around us increases the knowledge of a person and is more conscious ofthe surrounding world. If it was accessible and equal to everyone without gender, race, religious or any economic status distinctions, it would generate a civilised society, able to live healthy and in peace, encouraging integration. Hence education is what constitutes society built by people.

Dropout Rates in Schools in India In India important successes are joined to give opportunity to everyone to access primary and secondary school, to ensure that there is equality between males and females. Gender gaps in education have narrowed, but disparities remain, especially in rural areas. This is proof that when and where there are few resources to operate with you, you can not do much and to pay the consequences of it are the last, the poor people. In fact still often in India, women and girls, especially in these areas, are particularly affected by illiteracy.

If we see the report on the UN system in India, we can see that there is a good rate of completion in primary school. In fact in 2016 dropped out from primary school 11% of children. Between 2021-2022 the survey reveals the dropout is highest at the secondary level (9-10) with 12.6 percent, followed by upper primary (6-8) with 3 percent and primary (1-5) with 1.5 percent. The data further reveals that the dropout rate is higher for girls than boys at all levels of education. Dropout rates are often linked to socio-economic factors, poverty & lack of access to quality education. But for everyone, dropping out of school often means limited job opportunities and lower incomes, leading to poverty and other social problems. For society, a high dropout rate means a less educated workforce and lower productivity, which can have long-term effects on economic growth and development.

Why are girls dropout?

One of the reasons that girls do not complete school is because of their period. In these days they stay at home because not every school has separate toilets where they can change their pads in privacy. Many of them don’t have access to sanitary pads, so they use homemade napkins and it is more comfortable to change them at home. Further, for low-income users commercial pads are costly and low-cost pads have varying quality and reach.

One other reason is the distance from school. In rural areas is it possible secondary school is far and they could not have the allow to travel so far from home. We can see how girls are not educated for independence. In other, during the journey they risk experiencing violence and harassment.

Child marriage is one of the reasons because of they dropout to school. When a girl is married, depending on the new family if she can continue her studies, not all allow this.

From a survey made between 1992 - 2006 for some girls, marriage comes before the completion of the school, so before their 18th birthday. In some countries of India the incidence is still present but it is low, at 7%; in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, it still has a high prevalence of 60%. In other, in rural areas the problem is getting worse than in the urban areas, with 56% and 29% prevalence respectively. In 2006 India proclaimed Prohibition of Child Marriage Act that for girls became legal to marry at 18 years and for boys at 21 years.

The consequences of dropout

For individuals, dropping out of school often means limited job opportunities and lower incomes, leading to poverty and other social problems. For society, a high dropout rate means a less educated workforce and lower productivity, which can have long-term effects on economic growth and development. Therefore dropout is a loss of opportunity to not grow minds and so people, that could be potential and create richness for the entire country. Historically, education for girls was considered irrelevant and superfluous for future wives and mothers and detrimental to male societal authority. The dominant view was that men were heads of patriarchal households. There is a general conviction that girl and women are first wives and mothers, this match in their family roles, so their education can benefit from their social status. For boys instead, their education seems more important to society and its families. Still today girl’s education comes after that of boy’s education.

So why do girls drop out of school? They register good results in school and the parents should be proud of them. Hence why they abandon it? Generally the girls that are forced to dropout, sometimes from the families, sometimes cannot support hohousehold hores with school.

What Indian Government did

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is a programme launched in 2015 with the purpose to decline the differences between male and female and issues of women empowerment in their life. This project calls in action Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare and Human Resource Development. After this initiative was born others aiming to increase awareness and various rallies have been organised with participation from various schools.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a programme to give to everyone the opportunity to receive elementary education in a time bound manner. In fact the Constitution of India has the purpose of making free and compulsory Education to the Children between 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. The programme manages to open new schools in those areas which do not have schooling facilities and improve existing school infractures adding class rooms, drinking water, maintenance and improvement grants.

In other government offers scholarship to encourage families to send their daughters to school. Despite the many initiatives, gender equality in India remains a complex and difficult goal to achieve. Government continues to work on multiple fronts, but lasting change also requires a collective commitment from society to change the cultural norms and behaviours that perpetuate gender inequality.

Email communications@heeals.org 

Website: www.heeals.org 

Whatssapp: +91-7982316660

Sources

https:/leducationforallinindia.com/dropout-rates-in-schools-in-india/#:text=The%20dat a%20also%20reveals%20that. is%202.7%20percent%20for%20boys.

 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/deconstruction-notion-you-educate-man-individual-wom an-faithy-ngaira

 https://plan-international.org/publications/child-marriage-in-india/#text=Under%20Indi a's%20Prohibition %20of%20Child. permit%2C%20or%20promote%20child%20marriage

 https://www.aicte-india.org/reports/overview/Sarva-Shiksha-Abhivan

 https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/government tr reclbeti-bachao-beti-padhao-caing-for-th e-girl-child!

Menstrual Hygiene Workshop In Gurgaon

Menstrual Hygiene Project Based on our Research Survey Results we conducted Workshop In Gurgaon and Delhi Schools. Followed by Gifts , Sanitary Pads , WASH Booklets and Menstrual Hygiene Posters To Schools and Children. 

Join Menstrual Hygiene Project !

Email : communications@heeals.org

Whatss app : +91-7982316660 

Web : www.heeals.org 

Gender Equality World Is A Better World.

In India Gender Equality In social and education environment will create empowered women. Girls from poor families are also more likely to be subjected to child labor, early marriage, and other forms of exploitation, which limit their access to education. In Indian Gender Gap is POVERTY! Minimize the Gender Bias in the social and educational environments. Child Marriage Is A Crime . Together We Can Stop ! “Fighting For Gender Equality Is Not A Responsibility For Women Only. The Society Should Be Held Accountable For It Too. Gender Equality World Is A Better World. We At HEEALS Believe In Gender Equality “ -HEEALS .

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