MENSTRUAL HEALTH – HEALTH

MENSTRUAL HEALTH – HEALTH

News: Centre told to frame policy for menstrual hygiene in schools

What's in the news?

●       The Supreme Court said a "uniform national policy" may be framed by the Centre in consultation with the States and Union Territories to ensure menstrual hygiene by providing sanitary pads, vending and dis- posal mechanisms and exclusive washrooms for girls in schools.

●       The court gave the States and Union Territories four weeks to submit to the Union Health Secretary their menstrual hygiene plans.

●       The court asked them to provide the ratio of girls’ toilets in schools and the amount spent on low cost sanitary pads, and vending and disposal mechanisms in schools.

Menstruation cycle:

1. Definition: In a life cycle, a woman’s body is vulnerable to a variety of changes. The cycle of these changes occurs in women every month, positively for pregnancy is called the menstrual cycle. When an ovum is unfertilized, the uterus lining sheds and leads to a haemorrhage, called menstruation.
2. Age group: In a girl, menstruation starts from the age of 10 to 15 when she attains puberty and this beginning is known as menarche. The ending of menstruation is known as menopause which takes place at the age range of 50.
3. Duration: The first day of bleeding is marked as the first day of a menstrual cycle and the period from one menstrual cycle to another can vary from 28 to 30 days.
4. Phases of Menstruation cycle: The menstrual cycle is divided into four phases, namely:

●       Menstrual phase: Day 1, uterus lining which is prepared for implantation starts to shed which lasts 3 to 5 days.

●       Follicular phase: In this phase, the primary follicle starts developing into a mature Graafian follicle. The endometrium also starts proliferating. The uterus starts preparation for another pregnancy.

●       Ovulatory phase: Mid-cycle phase, this is the phase in which ovulation takes place i.e., day 13-17. The end of the follicular phase along with the ovulation period defines the fertilization period.

●       Luteal phase: It is the post-ovulation phase, where the fate of the corpus luteum is decided. If fertilization occurs, pregnancy starts. If fertilization doesn’t occur, it marks the onset of another cycle.

Need for National level Menstruation policy:

1)      To improve the health of the girl students: The unsanitary use of menstrual products increases the susceptibility of young girls and women to fungal, urinary, and reproductive-tract infections, impacting their overall health and well-being. The National level uniform policy will eliminate the health issues associated with menstruation.

2)      To improve the educational outcome: 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.

3)      Destigmatization: Better Menstruation policy seeks to eliminate the stigma stick to Menstruation and it will create awareness about menstrual hygiene especially in rural areas. The policy will act as a model for other private organizations to adopt the same.

4)      Provisioning of quality sanitary napkins: According to the results of the study, “Sanitary Protection: Every Woman’s Health Right”, only 12% of Indian women have access to sanitary napkins and remaining 88% have no access as they find sanitary pads unaffordable.

5)      Eco friendly disposal: Mandatory sanitary napkins disposal machines will ensure the eco- friendly safe disposal of sanitary pads. For which, uniform policy is an inevitable one.

6)      Protects women dignity and privacy:

a)      Promoting menstrual health and hygiene is an important means for safeguarding women’s dignity, privacy, bodily integrity, and, consequently, their self- efficacy.

b)      Awareness of MHH contributes to building an enabling environment of non-discrimination and gender equality in which female voices are heard, girls have choices about their future, and women have options to become leaders and managers.

c)      Article 51A states that denouncing practices that are derogatory to women.

7)      Economic aspect:

a)      Improving menstrual hygiene and providing access to affordable menstrual materials can help improve girls’ and women’s access to education, opening more options for jobs, promotions, and entrepreneurship, thus unleashing female contributions to the overall economy, rather than keeping them at home.

b)      In addition, feminine hygiene products are a multibillion-dollar industry, which, if properly tapped into, can generate income for many and significantly boost economic growth.

Government initiatives:

1. In 2010, when the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the 'Freeday Pad Scheme', a pilot project to provide sanitary napkins at subsidised rates for rural girls.
1. The scheme was launched in 152 districts across 20 states and sanitary napkins were sold to adolescent girls at the rate of Rs. 6 per pack of six napkins by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs).
2. In 2011, the Union government launched the 'SABLA scheme' across every district in the country. The scheme aimed at improving health conditions for adolescent girls with menstrual hygiene as an important component.
3. In 2013, under the then ongoing 'Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan', focus on menstrual hygiene was added as a key component of the sanitation mission.
4. In 2014, the Union government launched the 'Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram', aimed at improving the health and hygiene of an estimated 243 million adolescents. Menstrual hygiene was also included as an integral part of the programme.
5. Under the ongoing 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', menstrual hygiene has been given high importance. The Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) guidelines explicitly state that funds allocated for information, education and communication (IEC) may be spent on bettering awareness on menstrual hygiene in villages. Adequate knowledge of menstrual hygiene and development of local sanitary napkin manufacturing units is encouraged by Swachh Bharat Mission (rural) and self-help groups are to help in propagating such efforts.
6. In 2018, the government scrapped its 12% tax under GST to Nil, on all sanitary products.
7. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has introduced a Menstrual Hygiene scheme for promotion of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years in rural areas.
1. To increase awareness among adolescent girls on Menstrual Hygiene
2. To increase access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in rural areas.
3. To ensure safe disposal of Sanitary Napkins in an environmentally friendly manner.
8. The government has launched Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin, that seeks to provide biodegradable sanitary pads for only One Rupee per pad,

WAY FORWARD:

1. Movies creating social awareness about such social issues can play an instrumental role in bringing behavioral change in society.

●       The film Pad Man played a pivotal role in spurring conversations around periods and positioning sanitary pads as the savior.

●       Recently, the documentary: Period. End of Sentence, which explores the stigma surrounding menstruation in rural India, won the oscar award.

2. The government must promote small-scale sanitary pad manufacturing units to make low-cost pads more easily available, it will also help in generating income for women.
3. The government needs to provide efforts directed at awareness and education about menstruation and menstrual hygiene, and access to safe products, and responsive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.
4. An informed choice is important in the context of women’s reproductive and sexual health and is applicable to menstrual hygiene as well.

●       Informed choice means that women and girls have comprehensive information about menstrual hygiene products available (including their advantages and disadvantages, hygienic use, and disposal), and are equipped to make a choice about what they want to use given their needs and the socio-economic contexts in which they live and experience menstruation.

5. Menstrual health cannot be achieved only through governmental efforts without addressing it as a social issue, requiring interventions at societal, community and familial level.
6. Providing paid menstrual leave will also be helpful. Some states like Kerala, Bihar provide menstrual leave. The Menstruation Benefits Bill, 2018 which stipulates 2 days of menstrual leave and better rest facilities at the workplace is yet to receive assent.