Menstrual Hygiene Policy
Context:
- A menstrual hygiene policy ought to offer several advantages.
Introduction:
- The judiciary would just be need to give the administration a timetable to accomplish the apparent in a “unseeing” world. The Indian Supreme Court granted the Centre four weeks to complete the creation of an ideal menstrual hygiene policy, with a particular emphasis on sanitary napkin distribution.
Instructions from India’s Chief Justice:
- Y. Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India, also gave the government instructions to establish a national standard for the proportion of female restrooms to total enrollment in both government-aided and residential schools nationwide.
Menstrual hygiene in India:
- Menstruation is a fact of life for women in a specific age range, which naturally affects more than half of the nation’s population.
- Only now, after than 75 years after gaining independence, has India even come close to creating a menstrual hygiene policy.
- Although menstrual hygiene products are now more affordable for a wider range of young women due to developments in technology and increased urbanisation, many women in semi-urban and rural areas still face barriers to access.
Implications of unhealthy menstruation:
- Due to a lack of resources, including goods, information, and support, poor menstrual health can have an impact on girls’ and transgender students’ performance, attendance, and retention in school.
- It may result in dermatitis, infections, irritation, a change in pH balance, and a higher risk of cervical cancer.
- Female students drop out of school, are pressured into underage marriage, and are more likely to encounter domestic violence, infections, reproductive illnesses, malnourishment, and poor mental health. All of these factors have an impact on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women.
- It may have an impact on women’s income, productivity, and career prospects.
Key information and conclusions from the National Family Health Survey-5 include:
- A hygienic technique of menstruation protection is used by 90% of urban women and 73% of rural women, according to the most recent National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS).
- The percentage of women (15–24 years old) who use a hygienic means of protection during their menstrual cycle has improved significantly; it was 58% in NFHS-4 and 78% in NFHS-5. The most common methods of protection used by these women are cloth, sanitary napkins, and napkins made locally.
- The survey also demonstrated the strong correlation between education and preference for hygiene, with women who have completed 12 years of education or more more likely to employ a sanitary method than women who have not.
- There is unquestionably a connection between menstruation and school abandonment due to stigma and insufficient or nonexistent access to sanitary facilities (such as products, toilets, and water).
The next step:
- A policy alone won’t bring about a total revolution; in order to do so, the government must guarantee that all menstruation girls have access to reasonably priced menstrual hygiene products as well as clean water and bathrooms wherever they may need them.
- In addition, the policy ought to address the full menstrual cycle and all of the social and health consequences that come with it. The government needs to acknowledge, see, and resolve to support the women of India.
