On any given day, more than 800 million women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 are menstruating anywhere from two to seven days. While menstruation is a normal and integral part of life, in many regions of the world menstruating women and girls are often viewed as “impure” and “contaminated.”

According to a National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16, about 57.6 percent of the Indian women use sanitary napkins and 62 percent women in the age group 15-24 years still rely on a cloth during periods

Have you ever imagined not having access to a toilet or running water during your period? Or not having access to sanitary menstrual items?

A majority of rural women in India employ clothes and rags for feminine hygiene. These materials might predispose women to reproductive tract infections since it may be difficult for them to keep their used napkins clean and free of harmful bacteria. Washing reusable feminine products with soap and drying them in sunlight may be difficult due to lack of water, private facilities, and cultural taboos associated with menstruation.

SHE project team launched the swachatha project with eco-friendly menstrual hygiene awareness camps in villages in Karnaprayag, Gochar, rudhraprsyag, and adjacent communities. Followed by that we also launched the same in Kashi at various schools, Vaishnavi convent in Chunar, government school at the Naxalite area of Chunar in the Mirzapur districts, Ram Nagar just to name a few.

In 2018, Sewa launched this initiative aross many locations in India. We conducted awareness about menstrual hygeine and distributed reusable cloth sanitary napkins to young girls who wanted to be part of our program. The overwhelming response has made our team take this prgoram ahead and move forward with this initiative in large numbers.