By Sukanya Chaudhury
Blood Safai is the campaign we are running, in association with Youth ki Awaaz Action Network.
We glorify the blood on battlefields and cheer at the death of the enemies. We measure and applaud the bullet which breaks right through the skin – leaving the clothes of the martyr blood-soaked and red. We celebrate the blood of the fallen, borne out of hatred and yet, we scorn at the blood which gives life.
Menstruation, since time immemorial, has been successful in two things: firstly, in being the most crucial asset in the continuation of the human race and secondly, being a reason enough for the society to shun and shame the menstruators.
Even when the human race has made unimaginable progress in fields of medicine, space, matter, industry etcetera, the topic of blood coming out of one’s vagina has been able to make most feel squeamish and disgusted. Such is the social dogma surrounding the topic of menstruation that people avoid having a conversation about it altogether; including the menstruators.
The need for the necessity of normalising this natural, bodily process is immense, but one cannot choose to ignore the other aspects that accompany menstruation.
We, at Blood Safai, are trying to deal with the problem regarding the accumulation of menstrual waste, caused by the lack of disposal and proper methods of dealing with it. The following points talk about the categorisation of menstrual wastes and their current method of treatment:
- In 2016, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) brought in the new Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM). This placed menstrual wastes under the category of solid wastes and required the respective treatment and disposal of it. There was, however, poor implementation of the rule, and thus the results proved to be null and void.
- Most landfills have exhausted their lifespans, especially the sole landfill which is used in Kolkata. The functionality of the landfill was rendered useless almost 30 years ago and, till date, no provisions have been made for alternate dumping grounds.
- This points to the obvious fact that there is no segregation of menstrual waste (considered as solid waste) and neither is it incinerated, as directed by the Solid Waste Management Rules.
Why Is Menstrual Waste A Problem?
The common dumping ground seems to be of no big issue, but one cannot evade its harmful effects. Used sanitary products are incredibly unhygienic, and when they are handled by sanitary workers without prior measurements or coverings, it makes them prone to diseases and infections. Needless to say, due to India’s poor management and treatment of all kinds of waste, majority of it ends up on the ocean floor untreated- harming the marine life as well as affecting water ecosystem.
Excluding the blood, the high plastic content in sanitary napkins/pads (90%) is what makes it even more harmful to our environment. On average, one sanitary napkin takes approximately 800-900 years to degrade completely. Keeping in mind that sanitary napkin is the most used menstrual product in our country and that India alone generates 9,000 tonnes worth of menstrual waste annually, the total time taken for degradation is only unthinkable, if not treated properly. One also cannot overlook the harm it causes to the nutrition content of the soil, its living organisms and its overall pH balance.
Alternatives to sanitary napkins like menstrual cups, reusable sanitary pads, sanitary underpants, etcetera, are available. Although switching to these alternatives is considerably the best option, it is definitely not the most feasible one. The inability of Indian women to use such eco-friendly products, as mentioned above, is due to their inexplicably high price, general lack of awareness, social stigma and unavailability of said products in markets irrespective of their urban or rural location.
Since the advertisements of such products are hardly made by the Indian media and no efforts are made to reduce the price of the production by the government, the responsibility of correct methods of disposal should not be placed on the menstruators alone.
The lack of proper places and methods of disposal proves harmful to the vast majority. Used sanitary products often find themselves in local water bodies and/or any available ground. This unhygienic practise is a biohazard which will only amount to surmountable defects if not treated immediately.
Blood Safai is working to urge and provide an incentive to the local authoritative body of Kolkata (Kolkata Municipal Corporation- KMC) for the correct treatment of menstrual waste. In times like these, one can only opt to increase their reach regarding the spreading of awareness and taking the correct measures in dealing with the seemingly small but mercurial problems.
Here’s attaching the link to our petition. Please sign and support our cause!