Folded in newspapers, hidden in black polythene. Oh! It’s nothing but an essential and a necessity for every menstruator, which we feel shy to purchase, a body cycle which we feel shy to discuss. Heavy bleeding, blood clots, tremendous pain repeatedly after every 28 days, but sadly in our so-called society talking about the menstrual cycle, sanitary pads or any of your vaginal issues is considered shameful.
By the help of movies and advertisements, the government and the filmmakers have tried to spread maximum awareness about menstrual hygiene. However, there is still a batch of people who need to openly accept it as a basic need and help us reach the existing unaware audience.
Now let’s talk about the taxation charged, availability criteria and awareness among the youth. Sanitary pads were taxed at 12% under India’s goods and service tax (GST) as the government taxed pads as a luxury rather than an essential item. According to the National family health survey, only 58% of the women use sanitary napkins while the rest use a cloth or other things.
In this pandemic, the lockdown has affected the availability of affordable sanitary pads in rural areas. Not only this but young girls who face period for the first time are more likely to think that they have gotten trapped by some severe disease because seeing so much blood all of a sudden can scare anyone. Also, in rural areas, people have this misconception that menstruation is not discussed with everyone.
Simultaneously, many consider women impure during those seven days. Recently Rajasthan state government announced a new scheme where they have allotted an amount of 76 crores for distributing sanitary pads to all women between the age group 15 to 45 across schools, colleges and health centres.
But do the women of rural areas know about the urinary tract infections caused by using dirty clothes or not consulting a doctor on facing any problem? After reading the facts, the answer is clearly ‘no’. So let’s zoom into the entire problem and make it a big issue that all can notice. To reduce the problem, various NGOs should take the initiative and should spread awareness among the people about menstrual hygiene management.
Ending my words, I would like to conclude that period poverty is a big red spot on our country.