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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Hype over Pad Man but India's Menstrual Woes Continue -R Sujatha and R Gopinath

Hype over Pad Man but India's Menstrual Woes Continue -R Sujatha and R Gopinath

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published Published on Mar 29, 2018   modified Modified on Mar 29, 2018
-The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy

Menstrual hygiene, an essential building block of a woman’s health, suffers wanton neglect in India’s public discourse. Though public policies are in place, the progress made by India’s government, private, and civil society sectors is not in sync with the nation’s aspiration to be a global economic superpower. R. Sujatha, consultant on gender issues, and R. Gopinath, development economist, critique the steps taken, call for an overhaul in the approach, and emphasise the need for all segments of society to be involved to find effective solutions to the most fundamental of issues confronting girls and women in India.

Thanks to the hype around the release of the recent film, Pad Man, a lot of celebrities signed up for the cause on the social media. A commercial venture had opened up a floodgate and the age-old taboo of menstruation was addressed with so much ease that the common man was discussing it. Pad Man thus received immense support, thanks to its brilliant promotional strategy, which created the needful hype. But reality is somewhat different when it comes to the 3As: Awareness, Accessibility, and Affordability of menstrual hygiene.

The innumerable myths and taboos linked to menstrual hygiene, vary across different regions of the country. As part of the Pudhu Vazhvu project (Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Project), a primary survey was conducted in 2017 1 in Tamil Nadu which revealed that knowledge and awareness prior to menarche (onset of menstruation) was only around 27 per cent, indicating that nearly 75 per cent of the girls did not have knowledge of reproductive care before menarche. This led to a situation where more than 80 per cent expressed negative emotions at its onset. The survey also showed that only 54 per cent were aware of the organs of reproduction and 58 per cent felt that menstrual blood was unhygienic.

If this is the case in Tamil Nadu, which is among the most progressive States with respect to menstrual hygiene and where investments for the free supply of sanitary napkins in Government and aided schools in rural areas ranged between Rs. 47 crores and Rs.65 crore between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the situation in other States with respect to awareness can well be imagined.

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The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, 12 March, 2018, http://www.thehinducentre.com/the-arena/current-issues/article10092916.ece?homepage=true


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