Lack of education, stigma and misunderstandings have been some of the key factors contributing to young girls missing out on school during their periods. According to this report published by FSG, 71% of girls in India have no prior knowledge of menstruation before their first periods.
In India, within the age bracket of 11-13 years of age, 10.03% of girls drop out of school while amongst boys, the number was only 6.46%. Individual states have an essential role in promoting and encouraging menstrual health education and MHM practices. In a large and diverse country like India, there need to be policies that address the individual problems borne by citizens in different parts of the country.
The FSG report also concluded that girls in Maharashtra were forced to stay away from schools and religious places of worship, and were often kept in isolation during the menstrual period.
As a result of these taboos, 60-70% of girls in Maharashtra do not attend school during their periods. Since most of these taboos are taught and internalised at a young age, the unlearning also needs to begin early.
Maharashtra’s Menstrual Health Policy
In October 2017, the government of Maharashtra made menstrual education mandatory in all public schools. The pilot program was initially launched in Sangli along with six districts including Jalna, Osmanabad, Ratnagiri and Aurangabad. Following the initial success, the program was extended to cover the entire state.
Maharashtra has been one of the first states in India to create a task force at the district as well as state-level to monitor and impart education on MHM. Schools have been required to follow a program, designed by UNICEF, that includes detailed information on menstrual health as well as six mandatory sessions by hygiene experts. Workshops for students of class 6 and above, the use of storytelling and illustrations have all been a part of the government’s initiative.
Along with these provisions, the state also launched a booklet ‘Meena Raju Manch’ with a chapter about gender and health. The section explains menstruation in simple words through the story of a fictional character, Paro, according to Nitin Kamble (CORO volunteer).
Maharashtra’s Women and Child Development Department plays an important role in spreading awareness about adolescent reproductive and sexual health (ARSH) through their scheme for Adolescent Girl.
The state went one step further in February 2018 by launching a statewide ‘Asmita Yojana Scheme’. The scheme provides rural Maharashtrian women with a pack of eight sanitary pads at Rs.5 only. Implemented by the Rural Development Department, the state allotted three crores to the scheme which covers 36 districts.
The scheme also has its website and mobile app to be more accessible. Through these schemes, the government aimed to reach over 85,000 girls in the first phase and later extend to cover the entire state of 40 million households.
Since these schemes were implemented within the last three years, there is very little data to determine whether they have had any positive impact yet. But this study, published by Global Journals, details the importance of menstrual health education specifically in Maharashtra.
The study concluded that awareness about MHM should spread to rural as well as tribal areas as they are most vulnerable to the consequences of improper menstrual hygiene, especially reproductive tract infections. A specific program developed for such communities geared towards tackling RTIs could help solve this issue.
The study also added that education on menstrual health should begin before young girls reach their menstrual period, and it must include contributions by school teachers as well as trained nurses/health professionals. The state’s policies seem to have considered these points. It is only a matter of time before we see a positive outcome.
The author is a part of the current batch of the #PeriodParGyan Writer’s Training Program