The National Family & Health Survey (2015-16) reported that only 48.2 per cent women in rural India had access to hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period. While this figure is slightly better in the urban parts of the country (77.5 per cent), the overall percentage of such women nationally is a dismal 57.6 per cent.
The news has grave implications for the health of Indian women and there is a need to address the gap between the haves and have-nots in this regard at the earliest.
Dr Sonal Mahalwar, a leading radiologist currently working with the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, has realized the significance of this mission and, therefore, she has launched a programme called "Maasik Satya" to create awareness about menstrual hygiene and the role of society in it. Dr Mahalwar is also pursuing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, which she wants to use to develop software to detect breast cancer in women at an early stage. Her social venture for menstrual hygiene among women is an extension of this young medico's commitment to the Hippocrates' oath.
Talking about the need to motivate society to address this major health issue, Dr Sonal said, "I have spoken to various people at the bottom of the pyramid, including my maid, her friends, and her relatives and I was disheartened to see the lack of awareness amongst them."
The lack of awareness about this issue is also because no effort has been made so far to spell out the problem at the policy level. A number of charitable organizations in India are working to resolve this issue for Indian women belonging to the most deprived sections in society. The biggest challenge they face in doing so is the discomfort and hush-hush attitude adopted towards menstruation as a life activity. Sonal echoes the thought as she says, "Even today, menstruation is considered a taboo subject in India, not just in rural areas but in cities as well. For example, if you try to buy a pack of sanitary pads from your chemist, it will invariably be handed over to you wrapped in a black polythene bag or a newspaper."
The final solution to this problem, in Sonal's opinion, is to raise awareness through various activities at developmental stage. Her parting words on this issue are, "Menstrual hygiene has not really been mapped as an issue or a problem by either the development sector or the government. There is no problem statement, and there are no real solutions for the vast majority of women who are at the bottom of the pyramid and lack access to education."
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( With inputs from ANI )
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