UPSC MAINS SOCIOLOGY SYLLABUS
Paper 2 – Section C – Social Changes in India
(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation:
(a) Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.
(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
(c) Violence against women.
(d) Caste conflicts.
(e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.
(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.
INTRODUCTION
Period poverty is a lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management, or a combination of these. It affects an estimated 500 million people worldwide. People who experience period poverty are unable to purchase the menstrual products they need, and, in many cases, this means that they cannot go to school or work or otherwise participate in daily life.
DATA
The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report – Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000 – 2020, clearly states that if current trends persist, by 2030 only 67% of the world’s population will have safe sanitation services, leaving 2.8 billion without it. What’s more, only 78% will have access to basic handwashing facilities, leaving 1.9 billion people without that right. It is both sad and alarming to learn that, in 2020, nearly half the world’s population did not have access to safely managed sanitation (UNICEF, 2021).
In India, close to 23 million girls drop out of school annually after they begin menstruating. The main reasons for this are a lack of clean toilets in school as well as lack of access to sanitary products. Across the country there are millions of families who cannot afford to buy menstrual hygiene products for their women and girls
A NOT-SO-DISCUSSED ISSUE
Although period poverty is a widespread problem, there is a lack of research on the topic. In 2019, experts from academic institutions, NGOs, governments, UN organizations, and elsewhere came together to form the Global Menstrual Collective to solve this issue.
The Global Menstrual Collective defines menstrual health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in relation to the menstrual cycle.” It notes that people should have:
-access to information about menstruation, life changes, and hygiene practices
-the ability to care for themselves during menstruation
-access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services
-the ability to receive a diagnosis for menstrual cycle disorders and access to healthcare
-a positive, supportive environment in which to make informed decisions
-the ability to participate in all aspects of life, such as going to work and school
WHY PERIOD POVERTY IS A SERIOUS ISSUE?
The most commonly available sanitary product – pads, are not monetarily feasible for most menstruators. Let alone tampons and menstrual cups, which are largely available in urban cities. Be it high prices of sanitary products, lack of awareness about their usage, or the normalisation of silence around menstruation and its cultural ignorance as a “women’s problem”—these are some of the many reasons that have worsened period poverty in India. The problem of period poverty is threefold: lack of awareness, acceptance, and access.
One of the most devastating effects of period poverty is school dropouts. It has been estimated that 1 out of 5 girls drop out of school after they start menstruating. While an average of more than 40% of students in India resort to missing school while menstruating because of social stigma, isolation, embarrassment, and inaccessibility of period products. Add to that the fact that even after all these years, in India menstrual products are still not considered essential items.
Period poverty is also a major cause of increased illness and possible deaths amongst menstruators. With minimum access to menstrual products, lack of medical care, and poor menstrual hygiene, diseases like UTIs and other infections often end up being fatal. Furthermore, malnutrition, which even in 2021 is a serious issue in India, often impacts the health of menstruators severely.
MENSTRUATION AND STIGMA
Many cultures see menstruation as dirty and something that people should hide. The shame associated with periods prevents people from talking about them. This leads to a lack of dialogue regarding access to menstruation products, the tax on these products, and even the ingredients that they include.
While menstruation is a normal biological process that most of all women and girls experience, Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director, said it continues to be a target for discrimination and humiliation.
“Because of social taboo and gender stereotypes that stigmatize menstruation as dirty, many people experience menstruation with shame and without access to the resources needed to manage their menstrual health safely,” she said. “Menstruation is a human rights issue. It is also a public health and development issue.”
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
-Shuchi Scheme aims aimed at instilling awareness about menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls.
-Menstrual Hygiene Scheme focuses on promotion of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls (10-19 years) in rural areas of selected districts in 2011.
-SABLA Scheme focuses on nutrition, health, hygiene and reproductive and sexual health (linked to rural mother and childcare centres).
-Menstrual hygiene management is also an integral part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
-The National Guidelines on Menstrual Hygiene Management was released by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2015.
