Significance of Menstrual Hygiene

Why in news?

The Supreme Court directed the Union Government to devise a uniform policy to ensure menstrual hygiene for school children.

What are the measures taken by governments for menstrual hygiene?

• Menstrual Hygiene Scheme - Launched in 2011 to provide sanitary pads to girls aged 10 to 19 at a nominal rate.
• Suvidha scheme - Launched in 2019 to distribute eco-friendly and biodegradable pads at a subsidized rate.
• As of 2021-22 over 1,128 lakh pads are distributed under this scheme.
• Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram - Focuses on promoting sexual and reproductive wellness for all adolescents.

• Mini incinerators - The Union Government in 2013 issued guidelines for setting up mini incinerators in schools to burn sanitary waste.

‘Period poverty’ is the term used when there is a lack of sanitary products, and other essentials like toilets with clean water due to financial constraints in the region.

What are the links between menstrual facilities and education access?

• Karnataka High Court - In 2021 the court highlighted that providing menstrual facilities can empower women and it is also fundamental right under article 21A (right to education).
• United Nations Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council - Found that due to lack of menstrual measures the girls in high schools have dropped by 23%.
• Irregular attendance in schools - Absence of menstrual infrastructure results in irregular attendance.
• Annual Status of Education Report found that in Bihar girls school students had low attendance because 36.7% of primary and upper primary schools did not have separate toilets.

What are the challenges to menstrual hygiene?

• Since sanitary pads contains plastics the disposing via incinerators causes emissions.
• Various challenges in the scheme implementations such as lack of funds, poor quality and irregular supply of sanitary pads
• Non uniformity of the schemes across India
• The nominal rate of the pads is not affordable by marginalized girls
• Prevailing stigma in the society adding to low awareness about menstrual hygiene
• Awareness programs face administrative challenges too.
• Lack of female teachers at school to distribute the sanitary napkins to girls.

What is the way forward?

• The sanitary pads should be made eco-friendly.
• More female teachers should be recruited for effective scheme implementation that distribute the sanitary pads.
• The NGO needs to be included in order to make awareness about the menstrual hygiene in all schools.

Quick facts

• According to UN globally 1.2 billion women lack access to basic sanitation and hygiene.
• About 71% of girls in India are unaware about menstruation before their first period.
• Out of 10.8 lakh government schools, 15,000 have no toilets and 42,000 lack drinking water.
• According to National Family Health Survey-5 findings
  • 49.3% of girls use cloth and 15.2% use locally produced napkins.
  • Bihar (59.7%) has the lowest percentage of girls using a hygienic method, followed by Madhya Pradesh (61%) and Meghalaya (65.6%).
  • Girls with higher than the secondary level of education are more than twice as likely to be using a hygienic method as girls without any education level.

References

1. The Hindu│ Menstrual Hygiene In Schools
2. The Hindu│ Facts About Menstrual Hygiene