Somewhere in Gujarat, there is a young girl who is scared and confused because she just got her period for the first time. Ashamed and embarrassed, she might choose to stay home out of fear of ridicule.
The National Family Health Survey reports that 1-in-5 young girls drop out of school due to a lack of access to good quality menstruation products and nearly 40% of young girls skip school the week of their period.
In addition to the physical restraints to proper menstrual healthcare such as access to bathrooms, sanitary pads, and clean running water, there are a number of social restraints and boundaries. Many continue to consider menstruation a “dirty” process, causing women to suppress concerns about their menstrual health until complications arise later on.
Project Stree currently focuses on menstrual health outreach in Gujarat, where there is a vast disparity in access to menstrual care products between rural and urban areas. Women in urban areas have greater access to hygienic menstrual products than women in rural areas, creating a huge gap in access to proper education and care for women in rural towns compared to urban cities.
Gujarat also has one of the lowest cumulative percentages of girls ages 15 to 24 using hygienic methods for menstruation.
To combat this issue, Project Stree has held over 100 workshops in the Gujarat area in Ahmedabad, Idar, and surrounding regions impacting over 7,500 girls. These workshops are specifically held in areas with limited access to menstrual hygiene and education.
Our workshops offer young girls a chance to talk to educated instructors about their changing bodies and how to care for their periods hygienically. The workshops offer young girls the chance to understand what’s happening in their bodies to the best of their abilities using anatomically accurate models of the uterus and medical diagrams.
Through our workshops, we educate young girls about periods and help them understand them as a natural part of the body. Our workshops focus on three key aspects: menstrual hygiene, tackling social stigma, and capacity building. In addition to providing information, we offer crucial hygienic materials for young girls to use while on their periods.
In light of our dedication to eradicating period poverty, starting in Gujarat, we hope to highlight the behind-the-scenes work done by Project Stree members, volunteers, and ambassadors and their dedication to their roles. Fighting menstrual stigma and period poverty is no small feat and it requires a dedicated team of individuals.
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