Dukhini Sardar, 16, is the first matriculate not just in her tribal community but also among 72 villages in Purulia district, West Bengal. Yet, she knew nothing about how to cope with 'those days' and was too embarrassed to ask anyone.

So, for five days every month, she would sneak out in the dark and surreptitiously wash pieces of old cloth she used during menstruation so that they could be reused. With water  being scarce and having to walk two kilometres to fetch it, it was not hygiene that was a priority for Dukhini but the need to somehow wash and hang the cloth pieces in some dim corner where no one could see them. Never did she realise that this practice made her vulnerable to reproductive tract infections.

"It doesn't matter whether the girls are from villages in West Bengal or Madhya Pradesh, their problems are the same. Issues associated with menstruation are never discussed openly. Even after attaining menarche, very little information is provided to young girls about the physiological processes and the hygienic practices to be followed because of the taboos associated with it," says Santha Sheela Nair, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development.

It was this lack of information on the process of menstruation and understanding on how to manage it hygienically that prompted UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) to design a booklet on menstrual health and hygiene. The 38-page booklet, 'Sharing Simple Facts' released on International Women's Day this year, demystifies myths and taboos related to menstruation and tackles queries on physical and emotional changes through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) format. It is visually attractive, complete with illustrations and colour coding for each section, to catch the attention of youngsters. UNICEF will distribute it through NGOs, Self Help Groups, development partners and various government agencies. It will be translated into Hindi and other local languages such as Tamil and Bengali soon to enable greater dissemination.

"Overall, a woman spends approximately 2,100 days menstruating, which is equivalent to almost six years of her life. Good menstrual hygiene is,  therefore, crucial for the health, education and dignity of girls and women. This booklet is aimed at giving them dignity," contends Lizette Burgers, Chief, Water and Environmental Sanitation, UNICEF.

So Nair, then secretary at the rural development ministry in Tamil Nadu, decided to promote menstrual hygiene in conjunction with the sanitation programme that went beyond merely construction of toilets. She hit upon the idea of promoting usage of sanitary napkins as a hygienic mode of managing menstruation. Her department then roped in self-help groups (SGHs) and trained them to produce low-cost napkins to facilitate its usage among rural girls and women.

Training was also given for safe disposal of the napkins through incinerators, which were built in schools and fired once a week. For those who were unable to build incinerators, training was given to dig small pits and burn the napkins with paper.

Initially, selling the napkins was a problem. Then local NGOs and 'panchayats' (village councils) in the state, too, pitched in with the awareness programmes and with innovative marketing techniques. According to UNICEF, MNCs have been forced to slash the prices of their products considerably in an effort to retain their market share.
Today, Dukhini no longer waits for nightfall nor  does she sneak out to wash used cloth pieces. With the availability of sanitary napkins for just Rs 2, menstruation is no longer a dreaded period.

Women’s Feature Service