Teenager from Kerala's Wayanad wins laurels for menstrual hygiene campaign

During the summer vacation after her class ten exams in April 2023, Joanna Jewel initiated the Smiley Day project with the aim of imparting menstrual hygiene awareness among the girls of the tribal hamlets of Wayanad.

Thiruvananthapuram: A 17-year-old girl from Wayanad in Kerala is being widely acclaimed for her initiatives in imparting menstrual hygiene among women from the weaker sections of the society, especially the tribal women of Wayanad.

Joanna Jewel M, who received the national youth award from the Ministry of youth affairs and sports the other day, has been congratulated by Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

It was her participation in the Mission Dreams Miss India beauty pageant in 2022 while she was in class ten that changed her life.

"As part of the event there were awareness programmes on menstrual hygiene and free distribution of menstrual kits among the girls of the slums in Mumbai. That made me think of initiating a similar project for ensuring menstrual hygiene among the underprivileged women of my locality," Jewel, who hails from Mananthavady in Wayanad, told DH.

During the summer vacation after her class ten exams in April 2023 she initiated the Smiley Day project with the aim of imparting menstrual hygiene awareness among the girls of the tribal hamlets of Wayanad. With the support of some other NGO's she could extend help to around 40 women by imparting awareness about menstrual hygiene and by supplying reusable cotton pads and eco-friendly bio-pads.

Later on, the Smiley Day project was expanded to other districts in Kerala also. Netherlands based KidsRights foundation and Kerala based KOODU foundation are supporting the Smiley Day project.

Jewel already received eight state level and national level honours and notes of appreciation from prominent personalities like Kerala Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan and former governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

Jewel, who just completed her higher secondary studies at the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School in Mananthavady, says support from her father Minesh Kumar, who is an engineer, mother Anu, siblings and teachers, helped her in pursuing her passion of social service.

In a social media post congratulating Jewel, Priyanka said, "Your impactful work through the Smile Day Project—empowering adolescent girls and shattering the stigma around menstrual health and hygiene—is nothing short of extraordinary."