Problem

In India even today 82% of women don't use hygienic menstrual products/ pads in menstrual cycle, causing urinary tract, reproductive tract infections which leads to early age hysterectomy and at times even cervical cancer. We found three major reasons behind this:

1. Lack of awareness and lack of scientific information about menses.
2. Available menstrual pads are not affordable to rural - tribal woman & girls.
3. Pad is not accessible to them.

This is not only affecting women’s health but it’s affecting adolescent girls too; due to above reasons, up to 42% that means 2.3crore school girls drop out from schooling in India per year. The girls who don’t drop out, usually miss 5 days of school every month.

Solution

To tackle with this basic issue, Samajbandh has designed a ‘P FOR PERIODS’- menstrual health management awareness session and ‘ASHA CLOTH PAD’ product which can be made by any ordinary woman in her home by using old clothes. We in our project in Gagode, make such pads to distribute it in such remote areas as free samples. It also generates employment to local needy women making them independent.

Thus, Samajbandh works in three stages:-

1. Creating awareness about menstruation.
2. Developing scientific approach towards menstruation.
3. To give them a sustainable option to use during menstruation.