It is believed that by Improving menstrual health care and management, we can substantially improve the condition of girls’ education in our society. But given the lack of awareness and the sensitivities around the topic, it is found that girls living in a poor society or rural India have been declined basic fundamental rights such as education just due to the problems related to mensural health is the omnipresent stigmatization of menstruation and entrenched social norms in some parts of the world, which limit the adequate support to menstruating persons. Given the potential health, social consequences of ineffective mensural care management, this unequal access will further fuel the existing socio-economic inequalities within society.
Women and girls who menstruate are basically banned from basic activities like eating certain kinds of foods or socializing. The woman is considered to be ‘impure’ during her periods, so she is expected to live in a harsh environment. This includes sleeping outdoors and more. Due to additional societal norms, women put the needs of the household before themselves. Spending on themselves is still considered a luxury in most of the houses. Many rural women do not get enough menstrual hygiene. It is non-existent for them. The is water scarce in most of the rural part, adding to their troubles. The limited water supply is used for cooking and cleaning, not on themselves. They end up going days without bathing and often reusing unwashed clothes. This is continued during their periods as well. The same dirty rag is reused, leading to UTIs and infections! Another issue is the lack of toilets in villages. It is a basic human need, especially for menstruating women, but it is still a luxury. The effect of such issues is that the girls have to drop out of their schools early and several deaths, that is avoidable, are reported due to the lack of hygiene facilities.
There are various ways in which we can improve the fragile situation in the poor part of India. We have to make the population more aware of the old stigmas that are no more required in modern times, we have to invest more in the NGOs who can create a support system in the awareness. The government has to know that it has to play a major role in ensuring the basic facilities such as toilets.