Empowering Women and Girls Through Good Menstrual Hygiene

By Aneizo Chadi 

Menstruation is a normal biological process that occurs in women and girls. It starts around the age of 10- 15 yrs and stops around the age of 45- 55 yrs of age. Although menstruation is a natural and normal biological process it is considered a taboo in most societies.

In India, especially in the rural areas people consider menstruation as a taboo and believe that it is dirty and unhygienic. All these misconceptions arise due to the limited knowledge and information about menstruation leading to stigmatization of girls in the society, in the schools, at home and at work places. Some societies which are underdeveloped and their literacy rate are low. They stop the girls from going to school when they start menstruating. It also prevails in some section of our society where such kind of things are practiced and the girl is not allowed to enter the house as they consider unhygienic and dirty.

Keeping this matter in mind, it is the duty of the educated to spread awareness and organize programmes based on this problem. As in India where the population of women is about 355 million, only 12% (2011 Survey by AC Nielsen) of the women have regular access to sanitary napkins and the rest manage it in an unhygienic way. It is important to practice the hygienic way because it may lead to infectious diseases and affect the reproductive health.

The educated should aware not only the women but also the men about menstrual hygiene, the men should be informed that menstruation is a normal biological process and a key to reproductive health that occurs in women and should not be considered a taboo. We can help women who are not aware by conducting awareness programmes where they are taught the method to maintain a good menstrual hygiene such as the steps to use sanitary napkins, the remedy that will reduce uneasiness during menstruation.

Girls who are unaware are the ones who usually are confused what to do and what not to. It is mandatory to inform them on how to handle it because during their first period they feel uneasy as they get headache, acne, abnormal paint, etc. Being unaware of the changes in their bodies, they use other methods which may be harmful and unhygienic and cause various infections, diseases and lead to serious health complications. It is because of these reasons that it is important and mandatory to maintain good menstrual hygiene.

It is a known fact that women of this century are becoming more sophisticated and plays an important role in the society. They can be considered equal to man if not better. Therefore to empower the women who are still discriminated in rural and undeveloped areas, the government is taking up various measures to ensure that women are not discriminated and with Menstrual Hygiene Day observed worldwide, it is a big step to empower women and a step to spread awareness to both men and women that menstruation is a part of life which before was not discuss publicly but due to the jeopardy that lies ahead due to unacquainted knowledge on menstruation. It is taken as a serious matter and if proper measures are taken to maintain good menstrual hygiene there will be no woman suffering from any health hazards because of menstruation.

It is not impossible if we come together and spread the awareness to empower women and remove discrimination of girls and women in any aspects of life.

Aneizo Chadi is a class 10 student of Holy Family Hr. Sec. School, Kohima.
This essay of her’s won the Inter-School Essay competition on Menstrual Hygiene Day, May 28, 2019