For many of us urban women, menstruation is associated with routine discomfiture, which we learn to manage as we transition from adolescence to adulthood. Our access to sanitary napkins and awareness of hygienic menstrual practices ensures that our monthly cycle has little impact on our personal and professional lives. However, not every girl or woman in our country is as blessed. Around 23 million girls in India drop out of school every year due to a lack of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) facilities, which include access to sanitary napkins, awareness of menstruation and access to clean toilets with running water and disposal facilities.
Inadequate menstrual hygiene management is partly a manifestation of cultural myths and discriminatory traditions which consider this natural phenomenon a taboo. Many girls and women continue to be socially ostracised during their periods; their mobility is restricted, and they are considered impure. Feelings of embarrassment and impurity associated with menstruation are common amongst young girls.
