External Paper Links

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

Menstruation Related Myths in India: Strategies for Combating It

Garg, S., & Anand, T

20/4/24

Menstruation is a phenomenon unique to girls. However, it has always been surrounded by taboos and myths that exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life. In India, the topic has been a taboo until date. Such taboos about menstruation present in many societies impact on girls’ and women's emotional state, mentality and lifestyle and most importantly, health. The challenge, of addressing the socio-cultural taboos and beliefs in menstruation, is further compounded by the low girls’ knowledge levels and understandings of puberty, menstruation, and reproductive health. Thus, there is the need to follow a strategic approach in combating these issues. The current paper aims to discuss menstruation related myths prevalent in India, their impact on women's life, relevance of addressing these issues in primary care and a brief description about various strategies to combat them.

The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies

Mapping the knowledge and understanding of menarche, menstrual hygiene and menstrual health among adolescent girls in low-and middle-income countries

Chandra-Mouli, V., & Patel, S. V

20/4/24

“The Crimson Wave” (2015) exemplifies the Beauty in Blood collection, my feminist, bioartography project that seeks to confront social taboos pertaining to menstruation and the female body through macrophotography of men strual fluid. I challenge the notion that menstruation is “gross,” “vulgar,” or “unrefined” through candid, real-life photos of my menstrual blood which force viewers to see and think about menstruation in an entirely new way. There is an abstract artistic quality when blood meets water that warrants a closer look not only by women but also by society as a whole. Capturing the artful quality of this natural occurrence is my way of progressing society’s view and conversation around menstruation as well as redefining some traditional fine art aesthetics. In my opinion, society’s squeamishness about menstruation is completely ridiculous considering its graphic consumption of bloodshed through vio lence in pop culture entertainment, that is, blood sports like boxing, hockey, and wrestling; video games like Call of Duty; shows and movies like Dexter and Twilight; and even the news media. Pacifying social taboos only serves to give more power to society than to the self, and as women we have done that for far too long. My work quashes this taboo, reclaims feminine power, and puts menstruation in the context it so rightly deserves. Creating each piece of work is a four-step process: media (aka blood/men strual fluid) collection, design layout (aka pouring), photoshoot, and finally photo selection. The images of menstrual fluid are obtained in two different manners. During the early stages, we captured images by mounting a cam era on a tripod and strategically angling it over the toilet bowl, so Rob, my husband, artistic collaborator and project photographer, could snap photos as soon as I poured the freshly collected menstrual fluid from my cup. After sev eral shoots and a desire to capture more dynamic imagery, we began shooting.

International Research Journal of Social Sciences

Scope and Opportunities for Menstrual Health and Hygiene Products in India

Goyal, V

20/4/24

Menstrual hygiene continues to be amongst the most challenging development issues today. Not only do deep-rooted taboos, myths and misinformation create the illusion that menstruation is inherently shameful, gross and weird, but in countries like India, women and girls often lack access to hygienic sanitary materials and basic facilities Sanitary Pads necessary for good menstrual hygiene management (MHM). “Sanitary Protection: Every Woman’s Health Right “a study by AC Nielsen reveals only 12 % of India’s 355 million women use sanitary napkins. Over 88% of women resort to shocking alternatives like un-sanitized cloth, ashes and husk sand. Incidents of Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI) are 70% more common among these women1. The biggest barrier to using a Sanitary Napkin (SN) is affordability. Around 70% of women in India say their family can't afford to buy them, 88% of women use old fabric, rags or sand to manage their flow. This tells the immense entrepreneurial opportunities in the segment. A recent study anticipate the industry to grow to INR 45.9 billion by 2017.the only need to work in this direction is the reduction in cost of production.

Global Health Action

How Addressing Menstrual Health And Hygiene May Enable Progress Across The Sustainable Development Goals

Sommer, M., Torondel, B., Hennegan, J., Phillips-Howard, P. A., Mahon, T., Motivans, A., ... & Monitoring Menstrual Health and Hygiene Group

20/4/24

There is increasing global attention to the importance of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) for the lives of those who menstruate and gender equality. Yet, the global development community, which focuses on issues ranging from gender to climate change to health, is overdue to draw attention to how addressing MHH may enable progress in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To address this gap, we undertook a collective exercise to hypothesize the linkages between MHH and the 17 SDGs, and to identify how MHH contributes to priority outcome measures within key sectoral areas of relevance to menstruating girls in low- and middle-income countries. These areas included Education, Gender, Health (Sexual and Reproductive Health; Psychosocial Wellbeing), and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). These efforts were undertaken from February – March 2019 by global monitoring experts, together with select representatives from research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and governments (n = 26 measures task force members). Through this paper we highlight the findings of our activities. First, we outline the existing or potential linkages between MHH and all of the SDGs. Second, we report the identified priority outcomes related to MHH for key sectors to monitor. By identifying the potential contribution of MHH towards achieving the SDGs and highlighting the ways in which MHH can be monitored within these goals, we aim to advance recognition of the fundamental role of MHH in the development efforts of countries around the world.

Journal of Global Health Reports

Period Poverty: Why It Should Be Everybody’s Business

Michel, J., Mettler, A., Schönenberger, S., & Gunz, D.

20/4/24

Period poverty, defined as a lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, waste management, and education, affects many women globally causing physical, mental, and emotional challenges. The stigma that shrouds periods further prevents individuals from talking about it. Lack of data and limited research on period poverty are challenges hence more research and engagement are called for. Period poverty like other forms of poverty can be debilitating. It can take different forms and has emotional, physical, and mental health effects on individuals. More than half of the world’s population are menstruating people, it is high time period poverty becomes everybody’s business. Since the world is drowning in plastic, reusable environmentally friendly menstrual products need to be explored. This calls for innovation alongside intersectoral collaboration to ensure access to water and sanitation.

International Journal of Applied Research

Addressing Period Poverty Can Boost India's GDP By 2.7%: Insights and Economic Implications

Narang, Tanya

27/3/24

Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) is essential to the well-being and empowerment of women and adolescent girls. As per World Bank, on any given day, more than 300 million women worldwide are menstruating. However, an estimated 500 million lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). And 4.5 billion people don’t have access to adequate sanitation facilities. My study included primary and secondary research and analytics to understand how menstrual health management is practiced across various parts of India, challenges and opportunities, barriers to access and stigmas associated and finally benefits gained by menstruators by using period products. It then calculates that Menstrual Health Investment Index is 1.2% of India’s GDP per capita, how current disposable period products are unaffordable for a large part of population and compares the cost of menstrual hygiene management for reusable alternatives vs the traditional disposable ones and how reusable options can help address period poverty. The research then estimates that India can make economic gains to its GDP by 2.7% ($ 86.7 Billion), by positively impacting and addressing period poverty.

Menstruation Related Myths in India: Strategies for Combating It

Mapping the knowledge and understanding of menarche, menstrual hygiene and menstrual health among adolescent girls in low-and middle-income countries

Scope and Opportunities for Menstrual Health and Hygiene Products in India

How Addressing Menstrual Health And Hygiene May Enable Progress Across The Sustainable Development Goals

Period Poverty: Why It Should Be Everybody’s Business

Addressing Period Poverty Can Boost India's GDP By 2.7%: Insights and Economic Implications

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