City-based 9th graders take discussion of tabooed subject to govt schools, distribute sanitary napkins
For most adolescent girls, menstruation is a hush-hush affair.
But Nina Reddy and Preethi Subbiah, 9th graders from The International School Bangalore (TISB), want to change this dismal scenario. They have started a project, Svaasthy, to spread awareness on menstruation to girls from underprivileged families. The two girls will also present their work to policy-makers at the UN headquarters in New York.
“We want to educate young girls who are unaware of menstruation because it is a taboo. One of the most integral parts of being a woman is a taboo, and we want to change that. It happens to half the world, why should we hide our feminine nature? What is there to be ashamed of? Being a woman? We think it is necessary to educate girls that menstruation is what makes us women and we need to be able to take care of our menstrual health with the right products and pride,” Reddy said.
“Young girls who cannot possibly ask women in their family about such a tabooed topic, need to know what’s going on inside of them and how to deal with it,” she added. These two girls have found a two-fold solution to the menstrual problem in Indian. “One, is to generate awareness about menstrual health and hygiene via workshops in rural areas as well as to underserved communities and second is to distribute sanitary napkins and the Menstrupedia comic as a guide to girls,” Reddy said.
The girls have been working on implementing their solution and in the last two months they have impacted the lives of 200 girls and handed out over 1,600 sanitary pads with the aid of Apollo Hospitals in three locations in Bengaluru- Government Higher School, Doddakanneli, Namma Mane Orphanage and Samarthanam High School.
They have also created a website (www.svaasthy.net).
About their next project, Subbiah said, “We plan to hold at least two workshops every month in various orphanages and government schools of Bengaluru and distribute more than 5,000 sanitary pads by the end of April, hold fundraisers like bake sales and walkathons and to decrease the overall hesitation around menstruation.”
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bengaluru> Others / by Kumaran P, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / March 14th, 2018