Thane activists promote menstrual hygiene

THANE: A group of activists from Thane has independently embarked on a mission to educate users about menstrual hygiene and also dispel myths, and taboos surrounding it.
As the world observes international menstrual hygiene today (Saturday), a group of activists including doctors is reaching out to menstruating women urging them to switch over to reusable menstrual cups claiming it to be not just economical, safer for health but also environment friendly. Meanwhile, somewhere else in the city, a few youngsters have gone a step ahead and arranged ‘maasika mahotsav’ (period festival) and taking the opportunity to reach out to menstruating women and their male relatives and clear myth surrounding menstruation.
Dr Lata Ghanshamnani, co-founder of NGO RNisarg Foundation said she, along with her two friends, were appalled by the unhygienic and unscientific manner in which sanitary waste was being piled in urban dumpyards and thought of making a difference to the environment. “There is no proper disposal system for conventional menstrual products that are either not reliable or not healthy for users and not eco-friendly also, something that we wanted to overcome,” she said.
“We were shocked to note that nearly 10 tonnes menstrual waste was generated from Thane city alone. We realised this wasn’t good for the environment following which we decided to switch over to environment friendly alternatives and came across the cups. Once we were convinced by its safety, we decided to reach out to others and encourage them to make the switch as we feel the cups are not just safer, economic but will leave lesser footprints after disposal,” she said.
The activists also reached out to nearly 3000 women mainly from the low income group to check their resistance towards the switch. “Nearly 70% users were convinced about having safe and better menstrual hygiene and at the same time not affecting the environment also and readily switched over to reusable cups in the last two years. The switch was more among teenagers as compared to those above 45 years,” said Dr Ghanshamnani who now plans to widen their ambit.
On the other hand, a group of nearly 20 and more youngsters from the Muse Foundation have organised the Maasika Mahotsava (period festival) to mark the world international menstrual hygiene day and plan to take this opportunity to reach out to the society to dispel myths about menstruation.
“There is still a taboo attached to menstruation with many women still being kept away from community or religious functions during the period. We decided to start this festival with the intention to remove the stigma attached to periods and especially convince communities to normalise the phenomenon that menstruation was as normal an activity as cutting nails or hairs. We are attempting to pass on the message capsuled through entertainment initiatives,” said Nishant Bangera, founder of the festival concept.