Revolutionizing Menstrual Hygiene with Sanitary Pads!
ARJUMAND WANI
ANANTNAG, June 2: Ridwana (37) leads nine women at a small unit of sanitary pads in Naropora, a hamlet located in sub district headquarter Kokernag, 25 kilometers from district headquarter Anatanag.
Menstruation is the most natural, biological process of women’s life. In rural areas of Kashmir, a lot of women ignore sanitary pads instead use pieces of clothes which leads to poor menstrual hygiene and causes urinary tract infections, vaginal infections and rashes which ultimately leads to complications.
“After completing my M.Phil, I, thought, being a woman, I should break the taboo of using fabric instead of sanitary pads especially in older generations,” said Ridwana.
She observed that, women in their village and surrounding areas still use dirty fabric during menstruation periods and she has been trying to make them aware about infections caused by using clothes instead of sanitary pads.
Ridwana further said that, “I started a small unit with nine other women workers. We manufacture sanitary pads and try to go door to door to make women aware about the benefits of these pads,” she remarked.
Suhana (name changed) hailing from the same village while talking to the Kashmir Despatch, said: “I started using sanitary pads only after Ridwana briefed me about the importance of using proper sanitary napkins and I found it very comfortable than a piece of cloth,” said Suhana.
Neelofar Jan a 30-year-old married woman from Arihal village of Pulwama district in a conversation with this reporter said that, “about 30-40% of women still use fabric because they found cheaper or freely available at home.
A Gynecologist who didn’t want to be named, said they never recommend the cloth because of so many disadvantages.
“Using fabric is more prone to infections because the women reuse the cloth which is already stained with blood. This can lead harmful infections and complications,” he said.
According to the last year report released by National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the experts said that if an unclean cloth is reused, it increases exposure to multiple local infections.
Women aged 15-24 years were asked what method or methods they use for menstrual protection, if anything, it was found that in India, 64 per cent use sanitary napkins, 50 per cent use cloth, and 15 per cent use locally prepared napkins, the report suggested overall, 78 per cent of women in this age group use a hygienic method of menstrual protection.
