Journalism of Courage
In order to address the various issues related to unhygienic menstrual practices prevalent among women living in the slums of Pimpri Chinchwad, self-help groups in the area, backed by the Jijai Foundation, have ventured into manufacturing and selling of economical sanitary napkins. Corporator Seema Salve, who is also the founder president of Jijai Foundation, along with corporators Sharada Babar and Asha Shendge, said that the idea for this move originated from their interactions with the women from the slums.
The corporators said that a considerable portion of their electoral wards consisted of slums, and during the course of their interaction, the lack of menstrual hygiene came to light. The subject being considered ‘taboo’, Salve said that it took time for the women to open up about it. “Less than 1 per cent of women in slums use sanitary pads. The cost of branded napkins and also the supposed awkwardness in buying the product from medical stores are some of the reasons they mentioned for not using them. Also in many households, the daughter used the pads, but the mother cited economic constraints for not using them,” she said. Women in slums are particularly susceptible to health issues arising out of unhygienic menstrual practices.
To sustain the project, Salve said that in the initial days, the ready market of the members of the Jijai foundation would be more than enough. “We have around 4,000 members in various slums of Pimpri Chinchwad and this will be our captive market. We have identified group coordinators, who would look into distribution of the product as per the need,” she said.
Disposal will not be an issue, for the napkins are completely bio-degradable. Babar said that this is an added advantage as often, the disposal of soiled napkins poses a health threat to municipal workers.
