Sarvgyan Public School located in a non-descript Mewargarh Khurd village some 15 kms away from Roorkee is now abuzz with some unusual activities as some women are preparing pink-coloured packets which they would distribute among the girls who are stepping into adolescence.
They say that the packets contain sanitary napkins which epitomise what they term ‘Asmita’ for the girls who are having the periods of menstruation.
Aside from rousing self-respect among the adolescent girls, this ‘Asmita’ mission is helping some women from economically unprivileged families who are stitching such napkins at a centre being run from another village nearby.
The head of the organisation engaged in spreading the message of self-respect among the girls said that their focus is on boosting self-confidence among the girls who are vulnerable due to the stigma of unholy attached by some to the purely natural process of menstruation and also on awakening them to the need of hygiene during this critical time of their growth.
“Besides, we are making the women aware of the importance of cleanliness,” she said. “The girls are being told about the physical changes occurring in the body of a woman during the important cycles of menstruation, reproductive age and menopause.
The myths still persisting regarding these monthly cycles need to be broken,” she said, adding that they are explaining things through audio- visual aids as the impact created through them is enduring. She further said that they have distributed the ‘Asmita’ kits to around 75 girls so far.
A former chief medical officer Pramila Aron says that she comes to the village to give the girls tips on the importance of personal hygiene and also about the diseases which can affect one’s health if proper hygiene is not maintained. Retired principal of SD Degree College Madhuraka Saxena invokes the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and says that the mission is being carried out in the village in the spirit of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme envisaged by the PM.