By Deepak K.G.
“Periods don’t stop for pandemics. In times of disasters, let alone pandemics, it’s easy to overlook basic essentials for people around dignity,” said Dana Marlowe (Founder,‘I support girls’ organisation, Washington).
The ‘Pad-emic’
When alarming situations like pandemics occur, the whole world starts framing their priorities. The policymakers, officially, and the society, customarily, set these rankings, and the whole world has to follow it, whether they like it or not. But, what if these priorities satisfy only mainstream society?
Putting the lens on menstrual hygiene, its practice has become more challenging amidst the pandemic. The issue turned out to be a hot button globally, due to the outcry of some women health worker in China. As the hospitals in Hubei province, China, had removed sanitary pads from their essential supply list, the women health workers had to bleed in their PPE kits.
Be it China or elsewhere, menstruation is a normal physiological process and hygiene maintenance is essentiality. The Indian scenario is not very different. It would be a bit shocking for you to know that, despite having 121 million sanitary pad users (NFHS’18), sanitary pads were not included in the Essential Commodity Act until March 30, 2020!
Arunachalam Muruganantham, otherwise known as the ‘Padman of India‘, said that most of the sanitary pad manufacturing units were lying idle due to insufficient raw material, thereby reducing its supply.
Although the Chief Secretaries of all States were informed to act according to the change, retail shops are giving priority to masks and sanitisers as pads remain ‘out of stock’ at many places.
Consistent sanitary pad users are only 42% of the total menstruating people in the country. Among the rest, one cohort which requires special attention is the school-going adolescent girls. For them, the only source to access pads are schools, where pads are supplied under the Kishori Shakti Yojana.
As the schools are now closed, the girls are facing a crisis. In Rajasthan, the State Child Rights Commission intervened to solve the issue to an extent and in Lucknow, Sakhi vans took the role of distributing pads. Still, the vast rural pockets of the country are out of the distribution network.
Hindered Menstrual Hygiene Practices Due To ‘Physical Distancing’ Norms
Due to restricted social mobility, women are unable to go out and buy pads themselves. They are hesitant to tell the men of the family to purchase due to the perceived stigma involved. The unexpected lockdown has caused thousands of migrant women to be stuck in various camps.
For them as well, as for slum dwellers, it is challenging to clean themselves in common toilets due to physical distancing norms. Also, the availability of clean water has significantly reduced because of frequent hand washing and hygiene measures practised to counter the COVID-19. For migrant women in transit to their homes, irregular or inadequate change of pads can lead to Reproductive Tract Infections and cases have already been reported.
A Flicker Of Hope
Apart from government interventions, NGO’s and other civil society organisations are taking their own roads in bringing hope to menstruating populations. An innovative project named Baala has already distributed 18,000 sanitary pads.
Lucknow-based organisation Yeh Ek Soch (YES) Foundation, has been operating since 2012 to provide stigma-free comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, and also sessions on MHM to aid beneficiaries in menstrual hygiene. So far in this lockdown as well, YES has distributed 1,163 sanitary pads to the menstruating population. Few other organisations working parallelly are Kshitij Education Rural Development Trust of UP and Deepanjan Trust in Delhi.
But, only gender-sensitised policymaking can usher in empowered and dignified womanhood, during and after this pandemic. It is well evident that gender inequities deepen in crisis scenarios. Unless our mentality widens to fit ourselves in each other’s shoes; the priorities will keep snubbing the unprivileged, the oppressed and the deprived, the marginalised, the denounced, and the ones who bled into their own clothes.
About the author: The author is an MPH student at TISS, and a Rachita Campaigner, Period Sakhi