To
Ms. Rekha Arya
State Minister
Women’s Welfare & Child Development
Uttarakhand
Subject: Normalisation of alternative Menstrual Hygiene products
Respected Madam,
Menstruation is one of the most natural parts of a women’s life. But unfortunately, a stigma surrounds it in our society. Many women in both rural and urban areas still turn to usage of cloth during their menstrual cycle that is known to cause many health adversities to these women.
Although the usage of sanitary napkins has slightly increased since the last few years, these sanitary napkins are not only expensive but are responsible for causing environmental damage as well as inducing rashes, allergies, UTIs, birth defects, etc. And, the bio-degradable ones aren’t completely mainstream yet.
‘Tampon’, although facing the same environmental concern is still way better than sanitary napkins. They are fairly alienated in our society just because of its insertion in the vagina but are known to be much more comfortable and healthy.
But what can be a major game-changer in Menstrual Hygiene in our society is the ‘Menstrual Cup’. A menstrual cup is the safest, most cost-efficient, long-lasting and environment-friendly menstrual hygiene product in the market. But, it hasn’t been adopted in India due to minimal awareness regarding its existence.
Many women still don’t have the privacy to use these products in their homes due to a lack of proper toilets and normalization of their period cycle. Hence, It’s my sincere suggestion to Honorable Minister, Ma’am, to install as many washrooms as possible, set up camps in schools, hospitals at both urban and rural levels to spread proper awareness and above all to make these alternate hygiene products accessible and available to all women.
Sincerely,
Targun Kaur
Student
Journalism and Mass Communication
Chandigarh University