Many menstruating women in remote villages of Udaipur district in Rajasthan were made to brave the chilly winters. They were even made to believe that menstruation made them impure and were asked to sit outside their homes.
This is what three youngsters, including a Bengaluru-based youth, learnt during their visit to Udaipur as part of the Piramal Foundation’s Education Leadership programme. They were appalled.
To tackle this, Nitish Bhagath, a journalism graduate; Kalyani Joshi, an engineer; and Nrupraj Mahananda, a humanities post-graduate started ‘The Period Project’ and made it their mission to break the taboos surrounding menstruation by bringing together teachers and students in Udaipur district and spreading awareness about the subject. The project aims at empowering teachers so that they can explain the science behind menstruation to students. They want to train teachers of 10 schools in Sarada tehsil of rural Udaipur and explain menstruation through illustrations.
Nitish says that they will train teachers to reach out to girls in schools just before they attain puberty.
“We believe that keeping the girls informed and prepared with the knowledge about the changes taking place inside their body when they menstruate can play a big role in dispelling the myths that girls will eventually learn to believe in as they grow to become adults,” he said. Their campaign, which they plan to roll out next month, has got a lot of support, largely from women. “A majority of the people who have contributed towards the campaign are women,” Mr. Nitish said.
During one of the workshops conducted for tribal women earlier this month and field visits in Udaipur, they found that many of the women were misguided and uninformed about menstruation.
These youngsters hope that their initiative would help set the ball rolling for a taboo-free menstruation for the coming generations and end low self-esteem, stigmatisation and ridicule.
The Period Project aims at empowering teachers of 10 schools in Sarada tehsil of rural Udaipur so that they can explain the science behind menstruation to students
