On their visits to tribal hamlets near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Karnala sanctuaries, veterinary-doctor couple Dr. Madhurita Gupta and Dr. Yuvraj Kaginkar discovered something that would give them an additional purpose.
The Mumbai couple, who run the NGO, ‘Myvets Charitable Trust and Research Centre’, would visit these areas for wildlife protection, awareness, and research and development as part of projects in conjunction with the Forest Department.
During the course of these visits, they discovered that the tribal women used cloth to stem their menstrual flow, and disposed them of in the jungles nearby. “The cloth attracts wild animals to the villages in search of food. Wild animals have an excellent sense of smell -- they get drawn to it from miles away,” said Dr. Gupta. This is one of the reasons for the human-animal conflict in these areas, she said.
In 2015, the NGO started a menstrual health awareness drive among tribal women, and soon, this became its prime focus. Till date, it has covered four villages near the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. The couple provides free sanitary napkin packets to the women every month, and trains them to dispose them of either in the community pit or burn them under supervision.
“We interacted with women during these visits, and when we told them we are doctors, they started sharing their health issues with us. These women did not even have clothes to wear; sanitary napkins were ruled out. Many had developed rashes from using rugs and coarse cloth.”
The couple began their drive in a village called Kalhe, and even brought in a gynaecologist, Dr. Preeti Padwal, for check-ups and awareness sessions. Women in the age group of 13 to 70 years were trained in how to use sanitary napkins, in disposal methods, gynaecological diseases, sexually transmitted diseases. They were also treated for other health issues.
Dr. Padwal said it took some time to build a comfort level with the women. “Unlike underprivileged women in the city, these women were initially reluctant to come for health check-ups. They would rather visit a baba than take medicines.”
For now, the veterinary couple has been dipping into their earnings, spending up to Rs. 13,000 every month. “We are doing our best. However, to reach more women, we help from those who can donate these packets,” said Dr. Gupta.
They also conduct seminars and workshops for doctors on Wildlife Zoonotic Diseases — which affect women who are directly in contact with infected livestock — in medical colleges and hospitals across the city. “Our mission is to provide easy and free healthcare access to tribal communities inside forest areas who do not have access to the modern healthcare system,” said Dr. Kaginkar.
Apart from menstrual health awareness, the couple conducts door-to-door awareness on women’s empowerment with material in the local language. They also provide multivitamins, calcium and mineral supplements for menopausal women for free and educate the rural women on agri-based businesses such as dairy farming and poultry farming.
The tribal women are grateful for the help they have received. Laxmibai Patil (30), who lives in Khale village, said, “We live in the hills, and for even basic facilities, need to walk down for a minimum of one hour. There are no medical stores in our area, and sanitary pads were nowhere in the picture till ‘Doctor madam’ and her husband helped us.”
Sujata Takle (15), said she had no knowledge of menstruation till Dr. Gupta spoke to the women about it. “My mother only said I would bleed for four to five days every month and we need to use cloth to stem the flow. Now I look forward to meeting ‘Doctor didi’ and her husband, as their visits are filled with activities for us.”
Dr. Gupta, though, believes the NGO needs to step up its efforts, in a State where a sizeable number of women are deprived of basic facilities. “Ours is a small effort in this direction. The tribal communities are changing thanks to awareness sessions, regular campaigns and door-to-door interactions but the process is slow.” A little help from the government and private donors, she says, will take them a long way.
