March 2020, Mumbai
While menstruation is a monthly phenomenon for every fertile woman, there are many times the issues faced due to it are sidelined. Right from purchasing a pad from the medical to disposing off it in the dustbin, everything is considered so taboo that women usually tend to use some unconventional techniques which could either be harmful to the women or the environment. While the entire world celebrated women’s day on the 8th of march, Vallabhdas Dagara Navnirman Special school, Malad west, and Maniben Nanavati Women’s College celebrated this day in a quite unique fashion. In Vallabhdas special school, Blissful woman collaborated with special children and spoke on menstrual hygiene, uses of wrong menstrual hygiene products, how to keep that private parts clean and hygienic, how to use a menstrual cup, size, alternative period products, food during periods and many such related questions were explained by Founder Mansi Sampat, Along with Mr. Divij Shah. After the awareness seminar, they also distributed50 reusable cloth sanitary napkins for those children to use.
When we spoke to Charul Thakkar, Principal of Vallabhdas Dagara Navnirman Special school, She mentioned “These children come from a low-income family and due to their medical condition have many other special needs. When it comes to Sanitary napkins this becomes an additional expense for them to bear, thus we are grateful to The Blissful Woman who helps them with reusable menstrual hygiene solutions and also to save a lot of money economically for this section of the society. The helpers, maids, and teachers of the school also liked the project very much and were happy to use the products.
In Maniben Nanavati Women’s College, there is an average of 2500 to 3000 girl students studying in it, hence there is a higher possibility that at daily least 10 to 20 percent of these women are going through their periods. Rtn. Jankhana Mehta, club president of Rotary Club of Bombay Bayview, felt the need to install Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines and Incinerators to ensure that these girls can safely get pads during the time of their need and that these pads are disposed of in a correct manner.
When we spoke to Ms. Mansi Sampat, the founder of Blissful Women, a promoter and supplier of feminine hygiene products. She mentioned, “We at The Blissful Women understand the need for Washroom hygiene and the importance of it when there are more than 3000 girls in a building. It is estimated that around 20% of the girls who visit the building regularly for classes are in periods. Thus, every day lots and lots of used napkins are thrown in the washroom, flushed, or put in the dustbin unhygienically wrapped. It was important to put incinerators in every girl’s washroom in which napkins can be burned in just three minutes into one gm ash. This ash is collected at the end of the week and given to the BMC in a systematic way.”
When asked in detail about why the idea to install vending machines arose, Ms. Mansi mentioned. “When we spoke to the principal, she mentioned the need to have sanitary napkins vending machines in their campus as sometimes when girls are in periods it becomes difficult to take a napkin by going out to the chemist. If the vending machines are installed in college premises itself, in case of an emergency related to periods, these girls will have a better solution rather than running to the chemist.”
When it comes to women’s needs during the time of periods, sanitary napkin vending machines and incinerators are the best solution to help women feel secure not only in colleges but in corporate offices and public washrooms too. Organizations like The Blissful Woman always respect such thoughts and help to get these vending machines and burning machines in the washroom and also instruct right from installation to inauguration process. They also mentioned that they wish to celebrate and collaborate with many search organizations in the year 2022.
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