Lack of sanitary protection causes 23% of girls to drop out of school
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COMMENTS 
Seventy per cent of Indian women cannot afford sanitary napkins and 23% of Indian girls drop out of school because of menstruation-related problems, says a new study
Around 23% of adolescent girls in the age-group 12-18 drop out of school after they begin menstruating because of inadequate menstrual protection like sanitary napkins; those who are in school absent themselves for an average of five days a month.
‘Sanitary Protection: Every woman’s health right’, a study conducted by A C Nielsen and reviewed and endorsed by the community development organisation Plan India, reveals that only 12% of India’s 355 million menstruating women use sanitary napkins.
While cloth strips have traditionally been used by Indian women who cannot afford sanitary napkins (70% of women in the survey said they could not afford them), the survey finds that unsanitised cloth, ashes and husk sand are used by 88% of women leading to more cases of urinary tract and other infections.
In the survey of 1,033 women and 151 gynaecologists conducted in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Gorakhpur, Aurangabad and Vijaywada, around 31% of women reported a drop in productivity levels during their periods, missing 2.2 days of work on an average. Menstrual hygiene is lowest in eastern India, with 83% of women saying their families could not afford sanitary napkins.
In north India, over 30% of girls interviewed said they dropped out of school after they started menstruating.
Menstruation in India has traditionally been associated with myths and taboos and adolescent girls find it extremely difficult to even discuss the issue with their parents or elders in the family. Moreover, menstruation is culturally considered dirty or impure.
Recognising the need for sanitation during menstruation, the Union health ministry announced a scheme in June 2010 to increase access to and use of sanitary napkins by adolescent girls in rural areas. Under the scheme, a pack of six sanitary napkins will be supplied to below the poverty line (BPL) girls at a nominal cost of Re 1 per pack. Girls in the above the poverty line (APL) category would be charged Rs 5 per pack.
A Unicef initiative that has proved popular was installing a sanitary napkin vending machine in schools in Kanchipuran district, in Tamil Nadu, making a napkin available for Rs 2. The napkins are made by the Tiruvidenthai Akshaya Self-Help Group.
Another innovation is a low-cost sanitary napkin-manufacturing machine invented by a Tamilian entrepreneur that produces 120 napkins per hour. It has not only increased the base of women users but has also helped create a number of small manufacturing businesses. Around 100 machines have been installed across India. The machine has to be bought from its inventor, A Muruganantham, a Class 10 dropout, who refuses to sell his patent and wants his invention to help rural women. Several small businesses manufacturing sanitary napkins on his machine have come up in Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
Source: www.medindia.net, January 23, 2011
The Hindu, June 16, 2010
Tehelka, August 29, 2009