Women should be Period Proud!
Women are facing stigma related to periods for a long time. Derogatory comments, discriminative behavior, and rejection from performing rituals made women feel embarrassed. In many countries, the Menstruation cycle is termed as ‘contaminated or impure,’ due to which many difficulties arise for women during periods. They are often forbidden from entering the kitchen, touch pickles, enter into sacred places, and given a separate room to live in until she completes her menstruation cycle. It’s time to break taboos and to be period proud. Continue reading to know different ways to eliminate the stigma related to the period and be period proud.
Free Period Products:
In the year 2020, the Scottish government announced free period products for women. They removed all the tax from the period products and made them available for women at no cost. Many women live in villages or rural areas where women can’t afford to buy a pack of sanitary napkins during this period. The idea of free period products should be initiated in every country. So that, no women use other substitutes of hygienic napkins and maintain a healthy and clean menstrual cycle.
Developing period friendly schools and workplace:
Many girls are dropouts from school because they cannot afford to buy a pack of sanitary napkins. Using cloth for 7 to 8 hours in school increases the risk of infection and irritation on the skin during periods. One can develop period friendly schools where schools can provide sanitary napkins to girls during periods to maintain menstrual hygiene throughout the day.
On the other hand, women working in an office also need a period friendly workplace where there is the availability of sanitary napkins and provide period leave for women on the first day of periods. Developing a period friendly workplace will encourage women to work more efficiently for your organization and reduce the attrition rate.
Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines and Incinerators:
Many companies who manufacture Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines and Incinerators ensure that women get easy accessibility to sanitary napkins during periods even when they are not at home. Women get worried when she forgets to bring her hygienic napkins during periods when she is out of her family. She often rushes to the medical store to buy a new pack of sanitary napkins. She asks other female colleagues to provide a sanitary napkin. Installation of these machines eliminates both the situation, and women feel confident even if she forgets to bring her sanitary napkin. Additionally, the incinerators destroy the used sanitary napkin in an eco-friendly manner hence protecting the environment. Sanitary Napkins Vending Machines and Incinerators can be installed at:
- Schools
- Colleges
- Workplace
- Public toilets
- Cinema halls
- Girls hostels
- Hotels
- Malls
Creating awareness:
Creating awareness related to the menstruation cycle will result in reducing the stigma associated with periods. Social Media sites are the best and most adaptable platforms where NGOs and other such organizations working towards eliminating stigma related to periods can create an awareness regarding the same. They can provide a clear picture of how a woman feels when facing the stigma associated with the menstruation cycle. Women should fight against stigma related to the menstruation cycle and educate others about periods.
