Although the majority MHM policies focus upon free distribution of pads, period poverty remains a harsh reality in India. It is inclusive of a lack of correct knowledge and awareness regarding periods. It had an adverse effect on menstruators human rights.
Mehar is a domestic helper. She goes to her village during harvesting season to help her parents in the field. While working on the farm, she got her periods. As she was away from her habitat, she used some dry grass to manage her periods. “Uss din khet mein this, tabh aa gye. Ghar dur tha. Jati toh sbko dikh jata, badhnami hoti. Log mazak bhi odate hei. Toh sukhi ghass lga li aur kaam kar ke hi gyi,” She said.
As per the NFHS (National Family Health Survey) 2015-16, 57.6% of menstruators aged between 15-24 use sanitary pads. The rest resort to other methods to manage their periods. The reason behind this ranges from non-affordable menstrual hygiene products to social stigma attached to periods. Many women in rural India are switching to disposable pads due to lack of WASH facilities.
Mehar continued to use dry grass as she was ashamed drying used cloth. She said, “Kapda lagati toh kaha sukhati? Ghar mein papa aur bhai hei aur bahar logo ko dikh jata. Sheher mein hoti hu toh pad mill jata hei. Waha dukaan mei mard hote the. (There was no place to dry cloth. I could not do it in home because of my father’s and brother’s presence. Drying it outside is a big no-no because it would have been seen by all. Had I been in the city, I would have used a pad. There were no ladies in the shop in my village. I was ashamed of buying it from a man).”
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution includes the right to live with dignity and the right to health. However, it is breached for hundreds of Mehar every day. She got a severe vaginal infection as a result of using dry grass.
While lack of sensitization towards menstruators and the inadequate number of toilets with proper facility remains a vital issue, disabled women go an extra mile in fighting their battle. They are forced to wear diapers in places of their workplace due to lack of facility of toilets for disabled. This leaves them more prone to health issues related to periods.
Poor menstrual hygiene can cause physical health risks which are linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections. Around 40 % of urban girls and 36% of rural girls’ experience abdominal pain or discomfort during menstruation and the proportion does not vary very much by age.
90.2% menstruators stated that they face at least one issue during their periods. Around 89.71% of women said that periods affect their productivity. The reason for this is either physical problems such as backache, headache, cramps, itchiness etc. or due to the low infrastructure availability, i.e. clean water and toilet, disposal of menstrual hygiene products etc.
Article 21A guarantees education for all children of the age 6 to 14. The State has been failing to ensure this for millions of young menstruators. Girls in India reach menarche at an average age of 13.26 years. Period Poverty forces girls to dropout of school. Twenty-three million girls opt-out of school annually due to lack of menstrual hygiene management.
They fear stigma and face serious health problems. They cannot buy sanitary napkins either because they cannot afford them or because they are not available in the area. Around 40% of all government schools in India lack proper functioning of standard toilets, and 40% lack separate toilets for girls.
The absence of a menstrual-friendly environment in schools adds more to the crisis. In rural areas, most teachers in schools are men. This intensifies the taboo. Female students are not comfortable to talk about the same with them, and vice versa.
Article 15 prohibits discrimination based on gender. However, period poverty is affecting only menstruators’ right to education. Hence, the lack of State’s support for Menstrual Hygiene Management is leading to gender-based discrimination.
The idea of “isolation huts” is alive in parts of Tamil Nadu, among some tribes such as Gonds and Madiya, from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. These are bathroom-free huts which lack proper ventilation. These are usually in the outskirts of the village or near the forest area. Women are forced to stay in isolation here during their periods. They do not talk to anyone during this time.
This practice is a breach of Article 17, which prohibits untouchability, yet it is practised against menstruators. They are not allowed to cook, clean, enter the kitchen, water the plants and touch pickles. They are considered impure. In some cases, they are even not allowed to enter temples.
On average, a menstruator spends around 3000 days of their lives menstruating. These are 3000 days of injustice! We cannot call ourselves a developing nation when such is the plight of half of our population.
State has the responsibility to ensure the fundamental rights of all persons. High time that the State sees period poverty through the lens of fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution.