CHENNAI: In April and May of 2023, IT professional Punitha P traversed rocky, half-laid roads and dense jungles to reach the hamlets of Tiruvannamalai’s Jawadhu Hills. Along with a group from city-based Dulkal NGO, the 28-year-old volunteer aimed to conduct classes on menstruation hygiene and awareness in government schools. Interacting with 7th and 8th standard students from Adivasi communities, Punitha, who hails from Erode, found a basic dearth of necessities, from no school washrooms, pipelines with no water connection or motors, and a dire lack of awareness of the menstrual cycle.
In the hills, Punitha found girls quietly changed pads in densely forested areas and disposed of them there, menstruating mothers slept outside homes and many still used old cotton cloth in place of sanitary napkins. “There is no chance of washing hands there or any other hygienic practices. Some said they would keep the new pad above the old if they needed to change their napkins during class hours. I noted there is no dustbin in the washroom of some schools,” she says.
Ahead of The National Girl Child Day and the International Day of Education (January 24), she resolutely looked to social media for change and took to the Internet with a petition, with the aid of Nguvu. Addressed to the Minister of Adi Dravidar Welfare, Hill Tribes, and Bonded Labour Welfare, N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj, and Tiruvannamalai collector B Murugesh, her petition has few demands: “Period-friendly toilets, sanitary napkin vending or disposal machines, and proper water supply in tribal schools.” Currently having received 4,361 signatures, Punitha hopes to receive 10,000 at least to present her case to end the period poverty in Jawadhu Hills.
Of access and awareness
According to the fifth National Family Health Survey, in Tamil Nadu, around 91% of women aged 15-24 years used hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual cycle. However, while taking classes for students across four to five schools in the hills, Punitha tackled hurdles, taboos, and misinformation. “In one school, girls did not collect pads from school. The children felt shy and there was no female faculty in the school, no female teachers in any subject,” she explains.
Awareness and education are key. “Three years ago, I didn’t know what the word ‘period’ meant. Even in towns, parents and grandparents follow taboos,” she says. In Punitha’s lesson plan, aided with games and interactive elements, she delves into how menstruation starts, necessary nutrition, premenstrual syndrome, and biology. In a separate lesson for boys, she discusses PMS, nutrition, and the science behind menstruation.
As Punitha points out, in a press release, “Every girl deserves to have her hygiene needs met with dignity and should have access to gender-sensitive, secure, and safe sanitation facilities as well as sanitary products. The absence of both can create many problems including poor menstrual hygiene and serious health risks, like reproductive, vaginal, and urinary tract infections.” Urging the government to intervene, she says, “The government must start a campaign in schools, and with activities like street plays and games, they can bring more awareness to the topic.”
Beyond menstruation, the changemaker adds that in all fields of life, girls must have the confidence to face the world. “They must become financially independent. Life may throw anything at you. In these areas, parents marry off their children soon, so my advice would be to just focus on studies and graduate,” she signs off.