Tribal Girl Demands Sanitary Napkin Vending Machine In Bengal Village

The movement around menstrual hygiene has been gaining a lot of momentum these days. Just like their urban counterparts, women in rural areas have also accepted the gauntlet of sensitizing the community around the same. A tribal girl, Bahamoni of Jangalmahal in Birbhum district, is bent upon getting a sanitary napkin vending machine installed at the Rajnagar Block Hospital.

The girl is a first year BA student at Rajnagar college. Her hearing is impaired. She has met the district magistrate and requested him to install the same.

Also: Puducherry: Tribal Girls are switching to Eco-Friendly Cloth Pads

The village she resides in has 132 families. Bahamoni says they're all trying to move ahead with the times. The village, in the past, has successfully eliminated the practice of child marriage.

Bahamoni's endeavour to break the social taboo against menstruation is among the myriad attempts that have been made in the past to bring the issue into limelight.

Other initiatives

Last year, Mumbai’s Versova MLA Dr Bharati Lavekar took an initiative of launching a digital bank with an aim to provide sanitary pads to every woman and girl.

Read Also: 2 Doctors Leave Jobs To Teach Rural Girls About Menstrual Hygiene

Chanam, a Bangalore-based Manipuri, is the founder of a three-year-old campaign called ‘Breaking the Silence’ which aims to destroy the myths and taboos about menstruation.

Also, pathologist KadiyamKavya and her gynaecologist friend Priti Dayal from Telangana are working towards this cause. They have taken up cudgels to sensitize rural girls studying in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas on menstrual hygiene. The two doctors also supply them sanitary napkins free for one year.

It is good to see women initiating such campaigns and measures to make sanitary napkins accessible to everyone. Movies like Padman are also contributing their bit by accelerating change.

Read Also: Urmila Chaman’s campaign to break the silence around menstruation is doing a bloody good job