Nine Movement Educate School Girls on Menstrual Hygiene Awareness By Organising Workshop in Schools

New Delhi: Niine Movement’s initiative to raise awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene awareness and distributing Niine Sanitary Napkins by organising workshop in schools in Delhi & NCR to ensure no girl drops out of school due to her biology

· 71% of girls have No Knowledge Of Menstruation Before Their First Period

· 82% girls Use Alternatives, Such As An Old Cloth, Rags, Hay, Sand, Or Ash

· Only 18% use Sanitary Pads

· Menstruation is the second most common reason that girls are typically absent from school for 20% of the year

· 88% Adolescent Girls Are Unaware Of The Health Implications That Could Occur Due To Poor Menstrual Hygiene

· A lack of adequate toilet facilities leads to 23% girls dropping out of school every year

To solve the above problem in numbers, Niine Movement has taken the initiative to raise awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene awareness and distributing Niine Sanitary Napkins through workshops. The workshop was held at the South Delhi Municipal Corporation School and Guru Amar Das Public School in Delhi.

The Principal of South Delhi Municipal Corporation School, Mr. Arun Kumar and principal of Guru Amar Das Public School, Ms. Rajinder Kaur expressed their appreciation for the Niine Movement. The workshop was supported by Niine team members Jyotsna Sharma, Vidishaa Pandey, Ajit Singh and Avinash Jha.

Raising awareness among young people is the first step to addressing the stigma attached to periods. Workshops about menstrual health teach biological facts to adolescents, whose lack of knowledge often result in adverse health outcomes. To overcome the shame is still a mammoth task in India. Small steps such as the distribution of sanitary napkins in schools empower girls to talk about periods without embarrassment.

Dr.Sujata Naidu,Head Of Operations, Niine Movement said, “There is no better feeling than bringing a change to society. We live in a country where only 18% of women use sanitary pads, it is important for an umpteen number of reasons to make the girls aware at the right age and have an open conversation with them. Though menstruation is a normal biological process, it is treated as shameful and dirty in various cultures and girls even feel forced to drop out of education due to menstruation and a lack of resources to help them manage in schools. Teachers, parents and family members have a huge role to play in making the girl(s) of their houses aware that menstruation isn’t a taboo. It cleared a lot of myth about the menstrual period. The principals also were extremely supportive and have promised to continue to talk about the topic. The girls feel empowered after the workshop”.

Despite menstruation being an experience lived by as many as 355 million girls and women in India, approximately only 18% of them currently use sanitary napkins with approximately 82% of women often reverting to unhygienic and unsafe alternatives such as old cloths, rags, hay and even ash. The reasons behind this staggering statistic include decades of archaic attitudes and stigma surrounding menstruation, the lack of choice and accessibility for safe and affordable sanitary products and the limited awareness of the importance of proper menstrual hygiene management; even amongst the 18%, some are still unaware of maintaining proper genital hygiene and the correct usage of the product, often overusing sanitary napkins.