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Women Complained of Menstrual Hygiene at Farmers' Protest Site. They're Now Getting Free Sanitary Pads

Earlier, reports said that women were facing issues about menstrual hygiene. People of the adjoining villages had thrown open the doors of their homes for women protesters to take bath, but menstrual hygiene remained an issue.

  • Last Updated: December 10, 2020, 15:47 IST
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Buzz Staff

At the Singhu border, hundreds of farmers remain camped for two weeks now. There is poetry, songs of protest, free medical camps, innovation and a sense of community belonging brimming at the protest site. And keeping in mind the need of women protesters, volunteers from several organisations and political parties are providing free sanitary napkins there.

Earlier, reports said that women were facing issues about menstrual hygiene. People of the adjoining villages had thrown open the doors of their homes for women protesters to take bath, but menstrual hygiene remained an issue.

But this initiative is likely to bring respite for the women. Volunteers of Aam Admi Party and Khalsa Aid are reportedly providing sanitary napkins for free to women.

"The AAP women volunteers are taking due care of the women protesters and providing them with the essentials items of daily use," AAP MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke said.

Similarly, the Khalsa Aid too is providing sanitary napkins for the women in need. "Menstrual hygiene was one issue the women were facing at the protest site. Khalsa Aid installed portable washrooms for men and women respectively. The team also has sanitary napkins in stock for the women in need," Khalsa Aid an international NGO that provides humanitarian aid in disaster and conflict-torn places, said in a tweet.

The farmers' protest site has come up with innovation and ideas. There are books for people to read, ideas being discussed, and this-a roti machine which can make rotis after rotis, 2,000 rotis per hour. This naturally makes it easier for the farmers to make food for thousands at the camp.

Thousands of protesting farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been gathered at five different borders since November 26 including Delhi's Chilla and Singhu border for nearly two weeks, demanding a repeal of three agricultural laws passed by the Centre in September. The protesting farmers have a set of five main demands including implementation of MSP.

The main objection to the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act is that it is pro-corporate. It allows farmers to sell outside of the APMC (agricultural produce market committee). But it abolishes the mandi system that operates under the APMC system, meaning farmers would now have to sell to corporates, meaning there will be no purchase of crop at MSP.

Besides these, farmers fear losing their land and becoming "slaves" to the corporates as far as The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 is concerned.