Working towards Menstrual Health and Hygiene in India

What are the realities regarding menstrual health and hygiene for women in India? A survey was conducted by RIO Pads, a sanitary brand that brought out India first heavy flow sanitary pads, and Schbang, the creative and technology transformation company, to understand the stigmas associated with and the status of menstrual hygiene in India. The survey was deep and comprehensive dealing with the problems associated with mensuration faced by people belonging to different age group, gender, culture and social and economic background.

The team is to present the Blood Report on 28th May, International Menstrual Hygiene Day. The report covers almost 35 States and Union territories and people from the age group ranging from 14 to 55+ years. It states that the country has come a long way in this journey but has a need to go further to make the situation more comfortable for all the menstruators. It has improved menstrual hygiene and awareness among the public.

It also has succeeded in breaking the taboos regarding menstruation to a great extent. The facilities provided to menstruators and the access to them has also been enhanced over the years. The report urges both menstruators and non-menstruators to join their hands for a better future in this regard. 

The report brings in facts regarding many aspects of menstrual health and hygiene of the people and also the approach of non-menstruators towards this topic. Kartik Johari, VP of Nobel Hygiene, stresses that this report would force people to question many assumptions regarding menstrual health in India.

Akshara Vasavda, Creative Lead at Schbang, mentions that this report would definitely help the brands to improve their product based on the real problems faced by the users. He also emphasised that this report would help in inciting much-needed conversations regarding menstruation in the public and not just the brands.

The survey was conducted by connecting to almost 3500 menstruators through 30 influencers, institutions and NGOs. Motherhood hospital is the hospital partner which brought the PCOs society of India into the campaign for providing a deeper understanding of the issue. The report stresses that bringing greater accessibility to the facilities is as important as educating people in this regard.