Roughly 70% of reproductive health issues in women are caused by poor menstrual hygiene.
Menstrual Hygiene Day puts a spotlight on the need for sustainable, accessible menstrual products and good sanitation facilities, especially in low-income and rural areas where these products might not be accessible.
📖Lack of information/ Misinformation:
Traditional cultural norms have often prevented open dialogues about menstruation, restricting access to crucial information about normal female bodily functions.
This prevents several women (and young girls) from speaking up when going through immense pain and discomfort.
Not only is information often restricted, we’ve all heard all sorts of misconceptions floating around out there – from age old taboos to outright unscientific explanations of how women's bodies work!
These misconceptions can lead to discrimination and social exclusion, affecting women and girls in their education, work, and daily lives.
🏫Poor Infrastructure & Access:
Managing menstrual hygiene is especially difficult for women in developing countries due to the lack of clean water and proper toilet facilities.
❗Close to 23 million girls ❗in India drop out of school each year once they start menstruating. Several girls miss school during their periods because they don't have the right facilities or fear embarrassment, since 1 in 10 girls below the age of 21, cannot afford sanitary products.
The lack of access to menstrual products and hygienic facilities, creates further disparities in education and opportunity for girls.
▶️Where it all began...
Menstrual Hygiene Day was initiated by the German non-profit WASH United in 2012.
In May 2013, WASH United launched a 28-day social media campaign called "May #MENSTRAVAGANZA" on platforms like Twitter to raise awareness about menstruation and its importance in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) development initiatives. The campaign, supported by WASH Advocates, Girls' Globe, and Ruby Cup, received positive feedback, leading to the creation of a global awareness day for menstruation (source).
On May 28, 2014, Menstrual Hygiene Day was celebrated worldwide, for the first time, with various events such as rallies, exhibitions, movie screenings, workshops, and speeches. The inaugural celebration saw participation from 145 partner organisations (source).
➡️What's next?
Menstrual Hygiene Day is an opportunity to acknowledge and do our bit to tackle the challenges faced by millions of women and girls worldwide
🩸Roughly 54% of menstruating women in India, do not have access to menstrual care products🩸
Not only is our period underwear a safer alternative for women with access to period care, we can leverage what we have to ensure better health & hygiene for rural communities. Additionally, our period underwear lasts 2 years, so it eliminates the worry of running out.
We feel responsible to get women the period care they need. So we often partner or take on community-driven initiatives to ensure women receive the menstrual products they deserve. Check out our CSR initiatives right here.
🫴🏽What can you do?
The goal is simple – to make safer, sustainable menstrual care more accessible! 🩸
We’re immensely grateful for donors who choose to donate our period underwear to underprivileged communities, rural schools, etc; making sustainable, safe period care more accessible. We also make it a point to personally visit the communities to educate – make information on menstruation & menstrual care more accessible.
If you would like to make a difference, just drop us a message on +91-8454870509 :)
Sources:
https://toybox.org.uk/news/spotlight-on-period-poverty-in-india
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