Promoting MHE & RSN in Women Group of Dalchoki
Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) is a pertinent issue not only for sexual and reproductive health and family planning but also for women’s and adolescent girls’ empowerment and social justice. Girls/women are not fully aware of and educated about menstrual hygiene. Most of the women use pieces of cloths while adolescent girls practice using sanitary pads when available. Due to the unavailability of adequate facilities like disposal place, changing place for sanitary pads and proper toilet, many of them escape classes during the period. Menstruation has been affecting various aspects like education, health, economics, dignity, and participation of a girl/woman in various events in life.
- Use of improper menstrual hygiene materials leads to infection,
- Women miss their day-to-day work as they don’t have access to the facilities they required,
- Suffer from discomfort, endure teasing, shaming and face exclusion from everyday activities,
- Girls get distracted or less productive during schools, work and activities due to pain, discomfort.
Rural areas of Nepal could not be accessible for every facility, but using locally available materials will contribute towards sustainability and increase productivity. Likewise, use of reusable pads instead of sanitary pad and piece of cloths will helps to declined different health and economic issues like;
- Reduce menstrual hygiene issues like infections and skin rashes;
- Reusable pads are much healthier as non-reusable pad uses cotton which is one of the most toxic crops grown, using 20 percent of worlds pesticides and herbicides;
- Save loads of money as once made reusable pad lasts for years;
- Help to save environmental pollution as reusable pad do not consist of plastics or other non-decomposable materials;
- Reusable saves money and contributes to the household economy for the family.
Hence, to improve and uplift the menstrual hygiene status of women of Konjyosom Rural Municipality, Lalitpur, the project “Promoting Mensural hygiene Education and Reusable Sanitary Napkin for Women Group” is designed. This is a pilot project and acts as a model project in the district, which will act as an inspiration to promote and educate the concerned stakeholders about the need and importance of menstrual hygiene in the community.
However, the project activities aims to achieve the following specific objectives during the project period:
- To provide knowledge about menstrual health and hygiene for adolescent girls and women in the community,
- To aware the girls/women about menstrual hygiene management.
- To promote the importance of reusable sanitary pad.
- To make a reusable sanitary pad.
- To orient about the effect of taboos.
We express our gratitude towards Witwen-und Waisenprojekte Nepal, Switzerland and Improving Lives In Nepal for providing financial support for the execution of this project, without which we would not have been able to create the impact in the community.