AROH Foundation

The Grim Reality!

More than 200 million menstruating women in India do not have access to hygienic sanitary protection. This forms nearly 2/3 of all menstruating women in India (NSSO 2015-16)

While menstruation is a normal phenomenon, which is an essential feature of a woman’s reproductive ability, girls and women in India go through extreme struggles to manage their menstruation cycle every month. A large chunk of the Indian population believes this natural cycle to be a ‘curse’, ‘impure’, and ‘dirty’ among other things, courtesy of the ancient myths surrounding menstruation in India. According to population data (Census 2011), 336 million girls and women in India are of reproductive age and menstruate for 2-7 days, every month, but the topic of menstruation is kept under wraps and not discussed openly by society. This results in women resorting to unhygienic practices during their menstrual cycle, such as filling up old socks with sand and tying them around their waists to absorb menstrual blood, or taking up old pieces of cloth and using them to absorb blood. Use of Ashes and Muds for menstrual hygiene, 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 can increase a woman’s chances of contracting cervical cancer, Reproductive Tract Infections, Hepatitis B infection, various types of yeast infections and Urinary Tract Infection, to name a few. The situation is worst in poor and marginalised segments.

Poor menstrual hygiene practices not only put them at risk of various infections and diseases but also hinder their day-to-day tasks. She loses her self-esteem and confidence and suffers in silence. Often adolescent girls drop out of school and the education system due to this personal problem. In times of post-Covid era, where health and hygiene have been unanimously agreed to be of utmost importance, a lack of menstrual hygiene is only aggravating their risk of infection.

So what can you do?

You can gift a packet of health and dignity to these women who cannot afford to buy and have no access to Sanitary Pads.

With a small donation of $1,  you can help us provide a packet of 10 sanitary napkins to a poor girl, which can give her protection for one month and keep her healthy and confident to face life.

How AROH is helping?

AROH has been working on all 17 SDGs with a focused approach. SDG 3, 4, 5, 10 (which are related to female education, health, well-being. Gender equality) has been the prime focus area for AROH. Their mission is to raise awareness of gender issues and bring out the concerns in the open. Through their programs, they teach young girls that their menstrual cycles are natural, a sign of good reproductive health and something they have in common with girls in countries worldwide.

Furthermore, dialogue sessions between mothers and girls, students and teachers, inter girl dialogue are conducted to address the topic of menstruation more openly, allowing them to ask questions and look at menstruation as the natural and healthy process it is.

Through the programs, they aim to improve the health and the quality of life for girls and women across the country and they need your support to reach 5000 girls with sanitary products in the slums of Delhi and remote villages of Uttar Pradesh, Meghlaya and Chhattisgarh.

BUDGET:

$1 (cost of 10 sanitary pads) x 5000 (girls) = $5000 for a month’s supply of sanitary service to 5000 girls

$1 (cost of 10 sanitary pads) x 5000 (girls) x 12 (months) = $60000 for year-round supply of sanitary service to 5000 girls