#BleedWithDignity: Guwahati Girl Wants Assam Government to Install Sanitary Pad-Vending Machine in Schools; 40,000 People Sign Petition in Support

Every year, many adolescent girls drop out of schools since proper sanitation facilities are not provided to them when they are menstruating. With no access to functional toilets, clean water and adequate disposal facilities, school-going girls are facing a huge problem today as far as menstrual hygiene is concerned. The point of serious concern here is that women feel embarrassed to talk about periods in public. And it's disheartening to know that a bodily function is such a taboo topic. That is why, when the government of Kerala made it mandatory for all the schools to install a pad vending machine, a ray of hope appeared across the nation. Among them was a young girl from Guwahati, who decided to end the silence and ensure girls’ right to access healthy menstrual practices in Assam. She started #BleedWithDignity campaign on Change.org, which soon saw over 40,000 signatures and the count is still on. Nepali Woman Dies after Spending Night in a 'Menstruation Hut'. 

A social work enthusiast, Bidisha Saikia was shocked to come across the case of an 18-year-old girl, who died in Baram, Assam in 2017 because parasites in her menstrual rag entered her body and ate her intestines. “The superstitions and awkwardness associated with periods stop girls from washing and drying cloth pads in the sun. I find this silence odd and ironic in a land like Assam because my state has a culture of worshipping menstruating goddesses, and some communities even celebrate a girl’s first period,” Bidisha writes in her online petition at change.org. Bidisha who took a vow to end the silence so that every girl in her state Bleed with Dignity, started this petition on International Women’s Day.  5 Natural Ways to Beat the Stomach Ache During Menstruation. 

Bleed With Dignity

In her petition, she lauded the government’s move to allow stipend for girls from an underprivileged background to buy pads in its 2018 state budget. However, it could not end the taboo related to menstruation. Majority of girls feel shy about asking for a pad, while many do not know how to use it. “I believe that Assam Government makes this a reality soon because it is the need of the hour. I want every girl of Assam to #BleedWithDignity,” says Bidisha.

Female students face great difficulty when it comes to sanitation and hygiene as many educational institutions fail to meet the minimum required standards. The National Commission for Women in 2018 research highlighted the fact that about 23 percent of girls drop out of school due to non-availability of hygienic sanitary products inside the educational instructions. If the Assam government supports the initiative, it will become one of the few states in India, working towards destigmatising menstruation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2019 05:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).