In the rural India, where awareness often comes second to tradition, menstruation is still deep buried in silence. Even with the number of policies and awareness campaigns, large parts of rural India still approaches periods not as a normal biological process, but as a taboo; something to be spoken in whispers and suffered quietly. The implications of this mindset, are not just individual but far-reaching societal, affecting the education, health, dignity of females.
Menstruation in most villages is surrounded by myths and misleading information. menstruating women being isolated into specific places, among communities like the Gonds in the central India. In one recent case in Tamil Nadu, a girl was seated separately during an exam when she first menstruated. In a more another tragic incident, a woman in Jhansi took her own life struggling to balance her period with religious beliefs during Navratri. These are not isolated incidents; they reflect how our system has been unable to educate, assist, or treat menstrual well-being with respect.
While sanitation has improved due to different government initiatives such as the Swachh Bharat Mission; however, menstrual hygiene management is still not being given attention. As per 2023 report by WaterAid, only 36% of the rural government schools had functional gender-specific toilets with soap and running water. A significant percentage of rural schools do not have clean, separate toilets with running water, so girls are still forced out of schools during their periods.
Additionally, disposal of menstrual waste raises a serious concern. Due to a lack of proper systems, people often burn sanitary products in the open or dispose of them incorrectly, posing both environmental and health risks.
The menstrual health care system is also not optimal. In a 2023 report by the ministry of health and family welfare, it is stated that 40% of rural women get to know about menstrual health from frontline and anganwadi workers. Although these workers are responsible for reaching households in the rural regions, they lack sufficient training and resources to provide accurate information and identify the menstrual issues.
The issue is further worsened by the absence of menopausal health care awareness. Older women go through symptoms such as hormonal imbalance and mental stress but never seek any medical treatment, as they are not exposed to it and don’t have proper access to health care.
Menstrual education in rural India lacks quality. Many girls start their periods between 10 and 12 years, but a large number don’t understand what’s happening to their bodies. A 2023 UNICEF study shows that about 60% of girls in rural India had no clue about menstruation before they got their first period.
Schools also do not promote discussing menstruation in their curriculum, or if that is done, the lessons are basic and incomplete. Teachers hesitate or are not confident enough to approach students on that subject. This poor education leaves girls in fear and confusion. They tend to use risky alternatives like cloth or failing to clean themselves sufficiently, which exposes them to infections.
Boys are not included in the discussion, thus perpetuating ignorance and unfair practices. there is a necessity to involve boys in menstrual education to promote a culture where knowledge and equality exist.
But there are glimmers of hope. Some NGOs of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have set up ‘Period Circles’ in schools of rural areas where menstrual hygiene and mood swings can be discussed openly. Initiatives such as the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme are putting efforts in the right direction but need better implementation and integration with school curriculums.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Sukarma foundation has set up a small manufacturing unit that not only produces low priced sanitary napkins, under ‘No tension’ brand but also provides employment to local woman and carries out sensitisation on menstrual health. Since it began, the unit has made approx five lakh sanitary pads.
The Parinaama Development Foundation of Bihar funded by the RYTHM Foundation opened a sanitary napkin manufacturing unit at Patna, educating women to make and supply, eco-friendly sanitary pads and running awareness campaigns in nearby villages.
Likewise, the Goonj Foundation has taken substantial steps throughout the rural and remote areas of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Odisha under its ‘Not just a Peace of Cloth’ programme. The NGO manufacture reusable cloth pads, and generates awareness in the villages where the topic is considered taboo. Since the last decade, Goonj has provided more than 8.3 million ‘MY Pads’ among various rural and urban areas of India.
Various programmes such as the National Health Mission and Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) mention menstruation but usually failed to address its needs.
Menstrual health needs to be acknowledged as individual right, not some symbolic gesture. It is now time for the government to give menstrual hygiene priority status as an independent agenda item, complete with clean, partitioned toilets, regular access to sanitary products at reasonable costs, and secure methods of disposal in every rural school and village.
Education needs to extend beyond biology lessons. It needs to be included in life skills curricula, with both trained teachers and inclusive modules for both boys and girls. Frontline health workers, such as ASHAs and anganwadi workers, need improved training and resources to tackle both menstruation and menopause.
The menstrual health budget must be prioritised and distinguished from broader reproductive health. Investing in local women’s self-help groups to produce and distribute low-cost, environmentally sustainable pads can offer protection, create livelihoods, and generate community pride.
Finally, ending menstrual taboos requires ongoing efforts. Menstrual health isn’t a women’s matter; it is about dignity, information, and justice. The silence must be shattered, and systemic support must begin.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Prachi Kaushik, founder & director, Vyomini Social Enterprise.
