Why menstrual hygiene is so important?

 

Why menstrual hygiene is so important?

Beatrice Tozzi

 

Menstrual hygiene is a hygiene practice that allows women to avoid health problems during menses. In fact, menstrual blood can cause health issues such as  irritations or UTI (urinal tract infection). 

A really good habit that women can learn is to change sanitary pads (or tampon, or menstrual cup) very regularly during their period, in order to prevent any kind of infections, for example changing pads every 4-6 hours. Another good practice is to wash properly the areas that are in contact with pads. 

The majority of Indian girls, and their families, suffer from economic difficulties: a reason that doesn’t allow them to afford sanitary napkins during menses. This problem leads to the fact that they simply don’t know how to properly use pads, and how to take care of their bodies during menstruation.

Social taboos, still today, also play a major role when we talk about menses and sanitary pads. In marginalized communities the exchange of information is urgent and can really impact the quality of life of so many girls.

A study conducted in 2011 by Anant Kumar and Kamiya Srivastava^[1] among 117 adolescent girls and 41 mothers from communities and classes in Ranchi, Jharkhand, represent a concrete sampleof the situation concerns women and menstruation.

The study reveals that although menstruation is a fundamental part of the reproductive system, in Indian society they’re treated with secrecy. For example, when a girl has her period, it could be forbidden for her to enter the puja room, or the kitchen.

However, the study also shows that the girls interviewed are curios to learn more about menses. It is the lack of information that produce taboos and ideas that consider menstruation as unhealthy and something to be afraid of.

This study also presents some strategies to make girls aware of their bodies and of their menses. For example, the author suggeste the creation of “awareness program”, in which posters, flip chart and other informational tools should be shared. In addition, menstrual hygiene should become a school subject.

These are the reasons that led us, Heeals, to realize a program for spreading awareness on the importance of menstrual hygiene and gender equality precisely in these areas. With our project “TIME FOR MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AND GENDER EQUALITY” we will focus specifically on school-age girls, who attend schools in villages or urban slums, in the National Capital Region (Delhi), Gurgaon (Haryana) and Western Uttar Pradesh. We will also be able to hold workshops on the issues that concern our campaign, trying to fill the gap of knowledge about these important and fundamental topics.

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^[1] Anant Kumar & Kamiya Srivastava (2011) Cultural and Social Practices Regarding Menstruation among Adolescent Girls, Social Work in Public Health, 26:6, 594-604, DOI:

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Donation Details Are Below

DONATORS LOCATED IN INDIA

Account Number: 002101200566

Bank: ICICI 

Address: ICICI, Gurgaon Branch

Sco-18 & 19 Sector -14, Huda Shopping Center, Gurgaon -122001                   

RTGS/NEFT IFSC CODE: ICIC0000021

INTERNATIONAL DONATORS

Please email: communications@heeals.org

EDUCATE TO SAVE Why is it so important to educate girls?

EDUCATE TO SAVE
Why is it so important to educate girls?

What’s going on?

One of the greatest problems of the indian sub-continentis the lack of education provided to girls. According to the data reported first by the MHRD (Ministry of Human Resources Development) and then by CENSUS, in 2011 around 84 million children were outside the school system, almost 20% of all those who have an educational obligation, according to the norms of the RTE (Right To Education Act). The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education is an act of the Indian Parliament which guarantees free access, and confirmation of its mandatory nature, to education for all those who are between 6 and 14 yearsold.

However, especially towards the end of primary studies, the number of girls attending school is low and indeed the dropouts are numerous. The data iseven more negative when we start talking about secondary education, where 32% of girls do not have access to school, compared to 28% of boys, as highlighted by researcher AnjelaTaneja.

Why?

What determines the dropouts and what prevents many girls from studying?

Reasons can be traced to three macro-areas:

1)      Family responsabilities: traditional gender roles come into play,according to which girls must take care of home and family, and then get married soon. The responsibility however does not stop there, since the parents are often worried about the sexual harassment that girls could experience, bringing dishonor on the family, as reported by Rachel Williams on The Guardian;

2)      Lack of toilet facilities: an other serious problem that leads to poor attendance by female students is the lack of adequate sanitation and the presence of negative myths and beliefs related to puberty and the menstrual cycle;

3)      Priority to the boys: access to the internet and other facilities is often generally poor, therefore the priority is given to the boys, who hence have better access to knowledge, which facilitates their studies.

Why educating girls is so important?

This situation must necessarily be solved because of many reasons. In particular, educating girls would lead to both personal and social benefits. Let’s look atthem in more detail:

v  Economic independence: educated girls can aspire to jobs outside the house, which can give them a salary and thus make them economically independent;

v  Gender equality: among the SDGs there are “quality education” and “gender equality”. Adequate education allows girls and women to become aware of themselves and their abilities, reducing inequalities;

v  Society development: there can be no development within a society, and this cannot be said to be developed, unless there are equal rights and opportunities for women;

v  Social independence: as well as for economic independence, adequate education helps girls to be aware of themselves, their abilities and their rights as women, which emancipates them from traditional logics;

v  Chasing dreams: an educated girl is also a girl who, thanks to her skills and knowledge, can develop aspirations and goals, dreams that are more easily reachable with the right education;

v  No more pay-gap: another key point is the wage difference. With the right education and the right qualifications women can aspire to positions of a certain level, and they can fight to abolish wage differences.

Obviously the reasons for ensuring a (better) education for girls are not only these, but the list would be far too long to enumerate them all. We will therefore limit ourselves to these.

What can be done?

Of course, different interventions are needed to make a change: on the one hand, the role played by NGOs and non-profit associations working on a local scale is very important. As reported by The Atlantic, NGOs and individuals are moving to promote womens’ education,building schools dedicated only to girls. On the other hand, the push must also come from the government: although the problem has been recognized, the indian Government is slow in its response, putting the problemat the bottom of the list ofitspriorities. HEEALS is continioulsy campaigning on the importance of education among childrens ,espicially girls in schools and communuities.

Educated girls are fundamental to achieve a better future for themselves and for all of us, it’s fundamental that everyone understands it.

-Martina Pignatelli

Sources:

-          Why Do Indian Girls Drop Out Of Schools?,The Times Of India

-          Why Girls In India Are Still Missing Out On The EducationTheyNeed, The Guardian

-          The Groups Fighting For Girls’ Education In India, The Atlantic

-          The High Dropout Rate Of Girls In India, AnjelaTaneja

-          Right To Education, righttoeducation.it

WHY DON’T YOU LET ME HELP YOU?

Today, we are analyzing the link between NGOs and Governmental schools in India.

First of all, it is useful for a better understanding of this article, review rapidly what are the NGOs. As we told previously, they are easily defined as nonprofit entities independent of governmental influence. Moreover, NGOs activities include, but are not limited to, environmental, social, advocacy and human rights work. They can work to promote social or political changes on a broad scale or very locally. As a matter of fact, NGOs play a critical role in developing society, improving communities, and promoting citizen participation.

Secondly, we must try to understand the scholastic Indian system, particularly the difference between the private or public schools and the governmental ones.

Doing that, we can consider three fundamental points:

1.      At infrastructural level, the differences are very visible: as a matter of fact, the construction of a public school is often new and well maintained, while that one of the governmental s is more critical, because it is marked out for a lack of basic services, such as electricity, water, sanitation items and facilities. In addition, this substantial diversity is more evident in village area.

2.      As far as it concerns the tuition fee, in a governmental schools there is no need to pay fees or taxes in order to attend, and also schools uniforms and materials (books, exercises book and pens) are freely provided by the government. On the other hand, broadly speaking, the private school are expensive for families.  So obviously, poorest people tend to send their children to governmental schools, and children form middle and upper classes use to attend the public ones.

3.      Finally, we have to point out the different possibilities for the students. The huge amount of money,invested in private schools, allows to students not only to live in a more positive and competitive environment, but also to have the chance to enjoy some extracurricular activities. By contrast, in governmental schools students often do not receive a brilliant education, and if they can do some extracurricular activities, these are only developed with the purpose to improve student's livelihood, making them more aware.

Having said that, the contest where local NGOs, and among those HEEALS, tend to work is clear. Normally, NGOs have also the permission from the designed authority for working with young students in governmental schools, because the benefits that they bring are remarkable. Although that, currently there are some principals that promote that cooperation and others who simply disagree.

For example, this morning we went in one governmental school with the intention to do our workshops, about both #STOPCHILDMARRIAGE and Menstrual Hygiene Management, but the principal of that school did not allow us to do them and also to leave sanitary pads and other stuffs for the students without a specific reason.

At this point the question is:WHY? The students were enthusiasm to see our team, and for sure they could appreciate the products of our work. However, we had to leave. The big deal is that only for the will of one person, who should think about the wealth of students, we could not help those young guys. Definitely, that is not fair and for the moment we can not do something. Anyway, it easy to change mood, returning to be positive and happy. We have only to think that the majority of the governmental schools, and their principals and teacher, are very grateful for the work of HEEALS and that one of other NGOs in general.

To end up, surely the Indian public system is very complicated and also sometimes unjust. Nevertheless, if the grassroots NGOs, like HEEALS, can work freely, they will improve the student’s condition, allowing to the youngest to grow properly.

 -Martina 

WASH & MH Coordinator