Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::index() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 150
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 97
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::index() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 151
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 97
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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        Health | Not just a piece of cloth -Soma Basu    </title>
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-The Hindu





If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must





In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads..."/>
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-The Hindu





If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must





In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads..." />
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                            <div style="text-align: justify">-The Hindu</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads among adolescent girls. Priced at Rs.1 each, the pads were targeted at 15 million girls between the years of 10 and 19, and across 152 districts in 20 States. It also decided to supply sanitary napkins to 200 million rural women in the age group 20 to 45, providing each with an annual stock of 100 napkins.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Then, in November 2011, the Tamil Nadu government too initiated a &ldquo;napkin revolution&rdquo; with the free distribution of six disposable pads per month to 700,000 post-natal mothers for three months, and packs of five each month to 41 lakh adolescent girls and 700 women prisoners.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The schemes are well-intentioned: the female monthly is a taboo subject across India. Typically, the onset of menstruation is a traumatic and fearful experience for girls in India. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated with much fanfare, inviting friends and relatives to a grand feast and a ritualistic ceremony of purification of the girl. Yet the girls themselves are unprepared, with little knowledge about the cycle and how to deal with it.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Though in any family senior female members are supposed to be the traditional sources of information, most are absolutely ignorant about the need for hygiene associated with the menstrual cycle. In fact, menstrual hygiene is a much ignored aspect of public health, especially women&rsquo;s health.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Hygienic insufficiencies are considered to be one of the reasons for maternal morbidity which is still high at between 250 and 450 per 100,000 live births, according to a 2010 Unicef report. Other Reproductive Tract Infections primarily related to a lack of hygiene are also widespread in the country. Multiple studies have revealed that unhygienic conditions during periods are one of the major causes of cervical cancer among rural women. An improvement in overall sanitation can help reduce the number of victims. The focus indirectly put on menstrual health management (MHM) by the Millennium Development Goal 5 dealing with maternal health and universal access to reproductive health aims at a three-quarter reduction in maternal morbidity by 2015.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Getting women to use disposable sanitary napkins is viewed as one of the essentials of MHM.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Disposal issue</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But there is another dimension to napkins that rarely comes up in a debate &mdash; that is the environmental havoc that sanitary products cause. The distribution of millions of disposable pads can only add to the burden of India&rsquo;s badly managed waste disposal system. Modern pads are not biodegradable. In urban areas, disposing them down flush toilets can end up causing large-scale clogging of the drainage system. Also, improper incineration leads to air pollution.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Even if the used pads end up in land refills, they never break down or reintegrate into the environment. In India, most disposable pads end up littering village roadsides or getting burned in huge trash heaps, releasing toxins from the plastics,&rdquo; said Kathy Walking, of the Pondicherry-based Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG).</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Many self-help groups are now helping women to cope with the cultural taboos around menstruation in ways that can also be eco-friendly.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Women should become aware of their biological process and manage it in a safe way,&rdquo; said Anshu Gupta, founder of Delhi-based Goonj, which pioneered the initiative &ldquo;Not Just A Piece of Cloth&rdquo; nearly a decade ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In 2004, we started providing affordable (Rs.5 for a pack of five sanitary napkins) easy-to-use clean cloth napkin made out of waste cloth for women in villages and slums. We found clothing gave these women, who neglect or are ignorant of this critical health issue, a sense of dignity and self-respect.&rdquo;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Today, Goonj pads &mdash; 100 per cent biodegradable, and can be either reused or disposed of &mdash; have takers in 21 States. Other non-governmental organisations (NGO) like &ldquo;Vikalp,&rdquo; and AVAG are also working on eco-friendly MHM products.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>In Tamil Nadu</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Earlier this year, Eco Femme, AVAG&rsquo;s outreach to rural women in Tamil Nadu, began a pilot project to distribute reusable sanitary pads designed by it among 1,200 women across the State</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">AVAG is working with seven NGOs in the State to distribute the product and collect feedback by the end of the year. If the responses are positive, the findings will be submitted to the government in the hope of collaborating on a social enterprise.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Each woman is provided a set of three washable cloth pad prototypes expected to last three to seven years and produced by the rural self-help women. They are invited to a seminar for a general introduction to menstrual health management issues and exposure to different products.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For southern Tamil Nadu, the Palmyrah Workers&rsquo; Development Society, Madurai, is the key agency collaborating with its local partners in Thoothookudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Ramnad.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Aside from reaching out to women, the workshops have the incidental benefit: of raising awareness about and the importance of MHM among men.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">As MHM becomes a more &ldquo;talkable&rdquo; issue, the aim is to provide women the best solution &mdash; one that protects their dignity and is least harmful to the environment.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>soma.basu@thehindu.co.in&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>The Hindu, 19 October, 2012,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true" title="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true">http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-<br />cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true</a>&nbsp;</em></div>                                                           
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    <br><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true" class="re" target="_blank">The Hindu, 19 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true</a><div class="clear"></div>
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If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must





In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads..."/>
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-The Hindu





If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must





In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads..." />
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    <h1 class="cat-box-title">Not just a piece of cloth -Soma Basu</h1>
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		 Published on</span><span class="text-date"> Oct 19, 2012</span>
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                            <div style="text-align: justify">-The Hindu</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads among adolescent girls. Priced at Rs.1 each, the pads were targeted at 15 million girls between the years of 10 and 19, and across 152 districts in 20 States. It also decided to supply sanitary napkins to 200 million rural women in the age group 20 to 45, providing each with an annual stock of 100 napkins.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Then, in November 2011, the Tamil Nadu government too initiated a &ldquo;napkin revolution&rdquo; with the free distribution of six disposable pads per month to 700,000 post-natal mothers for three months, and packs of five each month to 41 lakh adolescent girls and 700 women prisoners.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The schemes are well-intentioned: the female monthly is a taboo subject across India. Typically, the onset of menstruation is a traumatic and fearful experience for girls in India. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated with much fanfare, inviting friends and relatives to a grand feast and a ritualistic ceremony of purification of the girl. Yet the girls themselves are unprepared, with little knowledge about the cycle and how to deal with it.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Though in any family senior female members are supposed to be the traditional sources of information, most are absolutely ignorant about the need for hygiene associated with the menstrual cycle. In fact, menstrual hygiene is a much ignored aspect of public health, especially women&rsquo;s health.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Hygienic insufficiencies are considered to be one of the reasons for maternal morbidity which is still high at between 250 and 450 per 100,000 live births, according to a 2010 Unicef report. Other Reproductive Tract Infections primarily related to a lack of hygiene are also widespread in the country. Multiple studies have revealed that unhygienic conditions during periods are one of the major causes of cervical cancer among rural women. An improvement in overall sanitation can help reduce the number of victims. The focus indirectly put on menstrual health management (MHM) by the Millennium Development Goal 5 dealing with maternal health and universal access to reproductive health aims at a three-quarter reduction in maternal morbidity by 2015.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Getting women to use disposable sanitary napkins is viewed as one of the essentials of MHM.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Disposal issue</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But there is another dimension to napkins that rarely comes up in a debate &mdash; that is the environmental havoc that sanitary products cause. The distribution of millions of disposable pads can only add to the burden of India&rsquo;s badly managed waste disposal system. Modern pads are not biodegradable. In urban areas, disposing them down flush toilets can end up causing large-scale clogging of the drainage system. Also, improper incineration leads to air pollution.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Even if the used pads end up in land refills, they never break down or reintegrate into the environment. In India, most disposable pads end up littering village roadsides or getting burned in huge trash heaps, releasing toxins from the plastics,&rdquo; said Kathy Walking, of the Pondicherry-based Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG).</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Many self-help groups are now helping women to cope with the cultural taboos around menstruation in ways that can also be eco-friendly.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Women should become aware of their biological process and manage it in a safe way,&rdquo; said Anshu Gupta, founder of Delhi-based Goonj, which pioneered the initiative &ldquo;Not Just A Piece of Cloth&rdquo; nearly a decade ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In 2004, we started providing affordable (Rs.5 for a pack of five sanitary napkins) easy-to-use clean cloth napkin made out of waste cloth for women in villages and slums. We found clothing gave these women, who neglect or are ignorant of this critical health issue, a sense of dignity and self-respect.&rdquo;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Today, Goonj pads &mdash; 100 per cent biodegradable, and can be either reused or disposed of &mdash; have takers in 21 States. Other non-governmental organisations (NGO) like &ldquo;Vikalp,&rdquo; and AVAG are also working on eco-friendly MHM products.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>In Tamil Nadu</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Earlier this year, Eco Femme, AVAG&rsquo;s outreach to rural women in Tamil Nadu, began a pilot project to distribute reusable sanitary pads designed by it among 1,200 women across the State</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">AVAG is working with seven NGOs in the State to distribute the product and collect feedback by the end of the year. If the responses are positive, the findings will be submitted to the government in the hope of collaborating on a social enterprise.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Each woman is provided a set of three washable cloth pad prototypes expected to last three to seven years and produced by the rural self-help women. They are invited to a seminar for a general introduction to menstrual health management issues and exposure to different products.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For southern Tamil Nadu, the Palmyrah Workers&rsquo; Development Society, Madurai, is the key agency collaborating with its local partners in Thoothookudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Ramnad.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Aside from reaching out to women, the workshops have the incidental benefit: of raising awareness about and the importance of MHM among men.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">As MHM becomes a more &ldquo;talkable&rdquo; issue, the aim is to provide women the best solution &mdash; one that protects their dignity and is least harmful to the environment.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>soma.basu@thehindu.co.in&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>The Hindu, 19 October, 2012,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true" title="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true">http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-<br />cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true</a>&nbsp;</em></div>                                                           
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    <br><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true" class="re" target="_blank">The Hindu, 19 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true</a><div class="clear"></div>
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        Health | Not just a piece of cloth -Soma Basu    </title>
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-The Hindu





If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must





In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads..."/>
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-The Hindu





If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must





In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads..." />
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    <h1 class="cat-box-title">Not just a piece of cloth -Soma Basu</h1>
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		 Published on</span><span class="text-date"> Oct 19, 2012</span>
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                            <div style="text-align: justify">-The Hindu</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads among adolescent girls. Priced at Rs.1 each, the pads were targeted at 15 million girls between the years of 10 and 19, and across 152 districts in 20 States. It also decided to supply sanitary napkins to 200 million rural women in the age group 20 to 45, providing each with an annual stock of 100 napkins.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Then, in November 2011, the Tamil Nadu government too initiated a &ldquo;napkin revolution&rdquo; with the free distribution of six disposable pads per month to 700,000 post-natal mothers for three months, and packs of five each month to 41 lakh adolescent girls and 700 women prisoners.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The schemes are well-intentioned: the female monthly is a taboo subject across India. Typically, the onset of menstruation is a traumatic and fearful experience for girls in India. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated with much fanfare, inviting friends and relatives to a grand feast and a ritualistic ceremony of purification of the girl. Yet the girls themselves are unprepared, with little knowledge about the cycle and how to deal with it.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Though in any family senior female members are supposed to be the traditional sources of information, most are absolutely ignorant about the need for hygiene associated with the menstrual cycle. In fact, menstrual hygiene is a much ignored aspect of public health, especially women&rsquo;s health.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Hygienic insufficiencies are considered to be one of the reasons for maternal morbidity which is still high at between 250 and 450 per 100,000 live births, according to a 2010 Unicef report. Other Reproductive Tract Infections primarily related to a lack of hygiene are also widespread in the country. Multiple studies have revealed that unhygienic conditions during periods are one of the major causes of cervical cancer among rural women. An improvement in overall sanitation can help reduce the number of victims. The focus indirectly put on menstrual health management (MHM) by the Millennium Development Goal 5 dealing with maternal health and universal access to reproductive health aims at a three-quarter reduction in maternal morbidity by 2015.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Getting women to use disposable sanitary napkins is viewed as one of the essentials of MHM.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>Disposal issue</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But there is another dimension to napkins that rarely comes up in a debate &mdash; that is the environmental havoc that sanitary products cause. The distribution of millions of disposable pads can only add to the burden of India&rsquo;s badly managed waste disposal system. Modern pads are not biodegradable. In urban areas, disposing them down flush toilets can end up causing large-scale clogging of the drainage system. Also, improper incineration leads to air pollution.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Even if the used pads end up in land refills, they never break down or reintegrate into the environment. In India, most disposable pads end up littering village roadsides or getting burned in huge trash heaps, releasing toxins from the plastics,&rdquo; said Kathy Walking, of the Pondicherry-based Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG).</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Many self-help groups are now helping women to cope with the cultural taboos around menstruation in ways that can also be eco-friendly.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Women should become aware of their biological process and manage it in a safe way,&rdquo; said Anshu Gupta, founder of Delhi-based Goonj, which pioneered the initiative &ldquo;Not Just A Piece of Cloth&rdquo; nearly a decade ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In 2004, we started providing affordable (Rs.5 for a pack of five sanitary napkins) easy-to-use clean cloth napkin made out of waste cloth for women in villages and slums. We found clothing gave these women, who neglect or are ignorant of this critical health issue, a sense of dignity and self-respect.&rdquo;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Today, Goonj pads &mdash; 100 per cent biodegradable, and can be either reused or disposed of &mdash; have takers in 21 States. Other non-governmental organisations (NGO) like &ldquo;Vikalp,&rdquo; and AVAG are also working on eco-friendly MHM products.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>In Tamil Nadu</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Earlier this year, Eco Femme, AVAG&rsquo;s outreach to rural women in Tamil Nadu, began a pilot project to distribute reusable sanitary pads designed by it among 1,200 women across the State</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">AVAG is working with seven NGOs in the State to distribute the product and collect feedback by the end of the year. If the responses are positive, the findings will be submitted to the government in the hope of collaborating on a social enterprise.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Each woman is provided a set of three washable cloth pad prototypes expected to last three to seven years and produced by the rural self-help women. They are invited to a seminar for a general introduction to menstrual health management issues and exposure to different products.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For southern Tamil Nadu, the Palmyrah Workers&rsquo; Development Society, Madurai, is the key agency collaborating with its local partners in Thoothookudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Ramnad.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Aside from reaching out to women, the workshops have the incidental benefit: of raising awareness about and the importance of MHM among men.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">As MHM becomes a more &ldquo;talkable&rdquo; issue, the aim is to provide women the best solution &mdash; one that protects their dignity and is least harmful to the environment.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>soma.basu@thehindu.co.in&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>The Hindu, 19 October, 2012,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true" title="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true">http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-<br />cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true</a>&nbsp;</em></div>                                                           
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    <br><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true" class="re" target="_blank">The Hindu, 19 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true</a><div class="clear"></div>
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Not just a piece of cloth -Soma Basu

Published on Oct 19, 2012   Modified on Oct 19, 2012

-The Hindu If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads among adolescent girls. Priced at Rs.1 each, the pads were targeted at 15 million girls between the years of 10 and 19, and across 152 districts in 20 States. It also decided to supply sanitary napkins to 200 million rural women in the age group 20 to 45, providing each with an annual stock of 100 napkins. Then, in November 2011, the Tamil Nadu government too initiated a “napkin revolution” with the free distribution of six disposable pads per month to 700,000 post-natal mothers for three months, and packs of five each month to 41 lakh adolescent girls and 700 women prisoners. The schemes are well-intentioned: the female monthly is a taboo subject across India. Typically, the onset of menstruation is a traumatic and fearful experience for girls in India. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated with much fanfare, inviting friends and relatives to a grand feast and a ritualistic ceremony of purification of the girl. Yet the girls themselves are unprepared, with little knowledge about the cycle and how to deal with it. Though in any family senior female members are supposed to be the traditional sources of information, most are absolutely ignorant about the need for hygiene associated with the menstrual cycle. In fact, menstrual hygiene is a much ignored aspect of public health, especially women’s health. Hygienic insufficiencies are considered to be one of the reasons for maternal morbidity which is still high at between 250 and 450 per 100,000 live births, according to a 2010 Unicef report. Other Reproductive Tract Infections primarily related to a lack of hygiene are also widespread in the country. Multiple studies have revealed that unhygienic conditions during periods are one of the major causes of cervical cancer among rural women. An improvement in overall sanitation can help reduce the number of victims. The focus indirectly put on menstrual health management (MHM) by the Millennium Development Goal 5 dealing with maternal health and universal access to reproductive health aims at a three-quarter reduction in maternal morbidity by 2015. Getting women to use disposable sanitary napkins is viewed as one of the essentials of MHM. Disposal issue But there is another dimension to napkins that rarely comes up in a debate — that is the environmental havoc that sanitary products cause. The distribution of millions of disposable pads can only add to the burden of India’s badly managed waste disposal system. Modern pads are not biodegradable. In urban areas, disposing them down flush toilets can end up causing large-scale clogging of the drainage system. Also, improper incineration leads to air pollution. “Even if the used pads end up in land refills, they never break down or reintegrate into the environment. In India, most disposable pads end up littering village roadsides or getting burned in huge trash heaps, releasing toxins from the plastics,” said Kathy Walking, of the Pondicherry-based Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG). Many self-help groups are now helping women to cope with the cultural taboos around menstruation in ways that can also be eco-friendly. “Women should become aware of their biological process and manage it in a safe way,” said Anshu Gupta, founder of Delhi-based Goonj, which pioneered the initiative “Not Just A Piece of Cloth” nearly a decade ago. “In 2004, we started providing affordable (Rs.5 for a pack of five sanitary napkins) easy-to-use clean cloth napkin made out of waste cloth for women in villages and slums. We found clothing gave these women, who neglect or are ignorant of this critical health issue, a sense of dignity and self-respect.” Today, Goonj pads — 100 per cent biodegradable, and can be either reused or disposed of — have takers in 21 States. Other non-governmental organisations (NGO) like “Vikalp,” and AVAG are also working on eco-friendly MHM products. In Tamil Nadu Earlier this year, Eco Femme, AVAG’s outreach to rural women in Tamil Nadu, began a pilot project to distribute reusable sanitary pads designed by it among 1,200 women across the State AVAG is working with seven NGOs in the State to distribute the product and collect feedback by the end of the year. If the responses are positive, the findings will be submitted to the government in the hope of collaborating on a social enterprise. Each woman is provided a set of three washable cloth pad prototypes expected to last three to seven years and produced by the rural self-help women. They are invited to a seminar for a general introduction to menstrual health management issues and exposure to different products. For southern Tamil Nadu, the Palmyrah Workers’ Development Society, Madurai, is the key agency collaborating with its local partners in Thoothookudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Ramnad. Aside from reaching out to women, the workshops have the incidental benefit: of raising awareness about and the importance of MHM among men. As MHM becomes a more “talkable” issue, the aim is to provide women the best solution — one that protects their dignity and is least harmful to the environment. soma.basu@thehindu.co.in    The Hindu, 19 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of- cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true

The Hindu, 19 October, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-just-a-piece-of-cloth/article4010144.ece?homepage=true

Tagged with: Health Gender

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