Menstrual Hygiene

IN NEWS:

• Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated every year on May 28 to create awareness among people about the importance of good menstrual health, proper use of menstrual products, and myths that mislead menstruating women, thus causing serious health issues.
• The theme for Menstrual Hygiene Day 2023 is - 'Making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030’.

MORE ON NEWS:

• Menstrual Hygiene Day was started by Germany-based NGO WASH United in 2013, when a 28-day social media campaign was launched to spread awareness around different aspects of menstruation.
• Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed every year on the 28th day of the fifth month because the menstrual cycle averages 28 days in length and people on average menstruate for five days each month.

WHAT IS MENSTRUAL HYGIENE?

• Menstruation (also called a "period") is a normal biological process experienced by millions around the world each month. A period occurs when the uterus sheds blood and tissue from the uterine lining and leaves the body through the vagina.
• Menstrual hygiene refers to the practices and conditions that help maintain menstrual health and well-being.
• Menstrual hygiene means being able to access products that can absorb or collect the flow of blood during menstruation, privacy to change the pads or menstrual cups, etc., and access to facilities to dispose of used products.

STATISTICS:

• Despite impressive gains in the last five years, as many as 27% of young rural women still use unhygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period, according to the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) held in 2019–21. The share was 52% in the previous round held in 2015–16.
• As per the NFHS-5, seventeen states and Union Territories (UTs) had 90% or more of their women using period products; in Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the fraction was 99%.
• Whereas, the lowest percentages of women use a hygienic method of menstrual protection in Bihar (59%), Madhya Pradesh (61%), and Meghalaya (65%).

WHY MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MATTERS

• Impacts on health:
  • When girls and women have access to safe and affordable sanitary materials to manage their menstruation, they decrease their risk of infection.
  • This can have cascading effects on overall sexual and reproductive health, including reducing teen pregnancy, maternal outcomes, and fertility.
  • Poor menstrual hygiene, however, can pose serious health risks, like reproductive and urinary tract infections, which can result in future infertility and birth complications.
• Impacts on education:
  • Many studies argue that inadequate sanitary facilities affect girls’ experiences at school, causing them to miss classes during their menstruation or even drop out.
  • For instance, nearly 25% of girls in the country are unable to attend school due to menstrual-related challenges.
• Right to bodily autonomy:
  • Each individual has a right to bodily autonomy.
  • The ability to care for your body while menstruating is an essential part of this fundamental freedom.
• Economic impacts:
  • Improving menstrual hygiene and providing access to affordable menstrual materials can help improve girls’ and women’s access to education, opening more options for jobs, promotions, and entrepreneurship, thus unleashing female contributions to the overall economy rather than keeping them at home.
  • In addition, feminine hygiene products are a multibillion-dollar industry that, if properly tapped into, can generate income for many and significantly boost economic growth.
• Intrinsically linked to Sustainable Development Goals:
  • Menstrual health is intrinsically linked to some of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: no poverty (SDG 1), good health and well-being (SDG 3), quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), all to be achieved by 2030.
  • Recognising menstrual health as a significant population health indicator is essential to achieving these goals.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO MENSTRUAL HYGIENE?

• Social taboos about menstruation:
  • Social taboos about menstruation limit girls’ and women’s lives, including restrictions on eating, cooking, visiting places of worship, participating in social events, and sleeping arrangements on menstruation days.
  • For instance, a study by researchers at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences found that in Maharashtra, the practise of segregating menstruating girls and women to ‘kurmaghars’, or "period huts", with no sanitation and other basic facilities poses a significant barrier to conducive sexual and reproductive health outcomes among females.
• Period Poverty:
  • Period poverty is defined as the lack of access to hygienic sanitation, menstrual products and period education among women.
  • Various factors, including lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities and inadequate sexual health education, perpetuate period poverty.
  • For instance, research indicates that at least 71% of girls in the country have no “knowledge of menstruation before their first period”.
• Women in the informal sector:
  • Women in informal work (e.g., construction work, domestic work, etc.) often have no access to washrooms, clean water for bathing, cost-effective hygiene products, or their safe disposal. Often, they also lack privacy to change their menstrual products.
• Lack of awareness:
  • A recent incident in Thane district of Maharashtra, where a brother killed his 12-year-old sister after assuming her first-period blood stains were signs of her physical relationship with someone, shows the importance of educating boys and men about menstruation.
  • Menstrual health is not a ‘women’s subject’. Comprehensive and meaningful education on menstrual processes, supportive environments, encouraging participation, and honest conversations can help adolescent boys and men better understand menstrual hygiene.
• Lack of policy support:
  • Recently, the Supreme Court refused to consider a PIL regarding menstruation leave for female employees and students nationwide, claiming that it was a policy issue.
  • The 2022 ‘Right of Women to Menstrual Leave and Free Access to Menstrual Health Products Bill’ specified three days of paid leave for women and transwomen during their periods and additional benefits for students, has yet to become law.
  • Only two states, Kerala and Bihar, currently have menstrual leave policies for women.
• Shortage of healthcare infrastructure:
  • Rural areas of the country face a shortage of healthcare infrastructure, doctors, nurses, etc.
  • This hampers women's access to knowledgeable healthcare professionals for menstrual health-related services. This contributes to the persistence of myths and misconceptions about menstruation.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES:

• National Health Mission 2011:
  • In India, menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) gained its rightful place in the public health discourse when the National Health Mission 2011 promoted a menstrual hygiene scheme among adolescent girls in rural areas.
• Swachh Bharat Mission:
  • Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is an integral part of the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ guidelines; the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation also issued MHM guidelines for schools in 2015.
• Initiatives by various state governments:
  • In January 2023, Kerala announced that the state government will grant menstrual leave for female students in all state universities under the Department of Higher Education.
  • Maharashtra’s ‘Asmita Yojana’, Rajasthan’s ‘Udaan’, Andhra Pradesh’s ‘Swechcha’, Kerala’s ‘She Pad’, Odisha’s ‘Khusi’, Chhattisgarh’s ‘Suchita’, and Sikkim’s ‘Bahini’ all have provisions to distribute subsidised or free sanitary napkins to adolescent girls.
  • Kerala and Karnataka governments have been distributing menstrual cups as a sustainable alternative to sanitary napkins.

WAY FORWARD:

• Elimination of period poverty:
  • To achieve true social justice and gender equality, the elimination of period poverty must be a priority. Governments, policymakers, and civil society must work together to ensure that every individual, regardless of socioeconomic background, has access to affordable and hygienic menstrual products.
• Female-friendly public toilets:
  • Female-friendly community and public toilets are gaining popularity. ‘She Toilets’ in Telangana and Tamil Nadu and ‘Pink Toilets’ in Delhi provide safe, private, clean facilities with essential amenities needed to manage periods.
• Menstrual leave:
  • There is a growing recognition of the need for paid menstrual leave for women experiencing heavy, painful periods that incapacitate them. Providing such leave allows women to prioritise their health and well-being, promoting gender equality in the workplace.
  • For extra reading: https://ilearncana.com/details/Menstrual-leave/4152
• ‘Green period’:
  • There is a growing movement towards embracing eco-friendly menstrual practises known as the "Green Period."
  • Switching to biodegradable products like menstrual cups, reusable sanitary pads, and period underwear benefits women’s health and minimises their ecological footprint. Encouraging the adoption of reusable menstrual hygiene products can significantly reduce plastic waste.
  • For instance, citizen movements such as ‘Green the Red’ support urban populations to use menstrual cups and cloth pads, providing that much-needed exposure to reusable products.

CONCLUSION:

• Gender inequality has continued to persist as a global challenge throughout the evolution of human civilization. While progress has been made in areas such as voting rights, education, property ownership, work opportunities, and equal pay, menstruation remains an overlooked aspect in the fight for gender equality. It is crucial to recognise that menstrual health is not merely a health or environmental issue but a fundamental human rights issue.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. “While India has made significant improvements with respect to menstrual hygiene, it has a long way to go to end period poverty and ensure period equity”.Discuss.