28 May, Menstrual
Hygiene Day
On the occasion of Menstrual Hygiene Day, Mera Parivar & Thr Helping Hand(THH)
organized an awareness on “Breaking the Taboo” with over 500 teenage school
girls of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Jackabpura in Gurgaon,
Haryana State, India. The girls were
students of Class VI to Class X. They are girls age between 12 – 18 years.
The girls giggled when Mera Parivar & The Helping Hand Team began
talking about menstruation. Most of them were shy and were not responsive about
the subject. They were curious but did not open up. Towards the end of the day,
the girls slowly began to whisper among them-selves and eventually started
responding and asking questions.
The topics discussed with the girls were
·
What is Menstruation
·
What is Menstrual Hygiene Management ( MHM)
·
About the campaign “breaking the taboo”
·
Restrictions, myths and taboos associated with
menstruation.
Some of the response and question were:
·
Girls wanted to know more about menstruation – what
they should do about heavy flow or less flow etc
·
They said that were restricted from doing certain
things such as visiting the temple or not to take certain food such as Achaar (
Indian food)
·
The Girls said that they do not miss their class
during menstruation
·
Objective of the MHM awareness with teenage girls.
·
To create awareness among young girls
·
To make them understand about their own body
·
To motivate and encourage them to break the taboo around
Menstruation
·
To empower young girls to come out of their silence
·
For healthy growth of young girls physically and
mentally
·
To take forward the Beak the Taboo campaign
Significance of the Day – May 28
May is the 5th month of the year,
representing 5 days, or the average number of days (between 2-7) a woman or
girl spends menstruating each month. And, 28 represent the average number of
days in a menstrual cycle.
MHM and Mera Parivar & The Helping Hand :
Women empowerment is one of the key focus areas of
Mera Parivar & THH . While taking up
empowerment process such as skill building and income generation for the women,
Mera Parivar THH is continuously engaged in creating awareness and advocacy on
women’s rights.
Though women in urban set up like Gurgaon know
about menstruation and use of sanitary napkins, women are not aware of the need
to break the taboo surrounding menstruation. Women in Gurgaon like any other
women in India or across the world believe in the taboos and restriction
associated with menstruation. In Gurgaon and India at large a menstruating
woman is considered “impure” and therefore is restricted from performing
certain duties and work, such as “puja” – performing religious rites and
worship or entering a temple. They were also restricted to touch males with the
belief that it will “impure” the males. More over a menstruating woman is
restricted from eating certain food such as Achar (Indian canned foods) with a belief
that it will harm the body.
In his situation Mera Parivar & THH finds that it is
extremely important to take up awareness and advocacy for breaking the silence
over the restrictions imposed over menstruation.
Moreover since it is associated with bodily
discharge it is also extremely important to associate the awareness with
cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene.
The
MHM campaign is therefore a right to education about menstrual
hygiene. It is also about right to sanitation and sufficient water.
The MHM campaign is also about the right to health.
It is further linked to girls and women’s physical, social and mental well
being. Empowerment and right to education on menstrual hygiene and breaking the
restriction will further enhance their capacity and potential. This will
eventually increase their productivity, helping women to be able to work more
and even earn more, thus helps in their economy and living standard.
Education
on menstruations, menstrual hygiene helps to dispel myths, stigmas and negative
perceptions about menstruation. Bringing girls for interactions and discussion
about menstruation helps them understand about themselves, their own body and
actually empower them to take decision on their own body.
We acknowledge Johnson & Johnson for providing all logistic help
We acknowledge Johnson & Johnson for providing all logistic help
#267, Sec-14, Gurgaon – Haryana, India
