Bhopal: Huge urban-rural disconnect in maintaining menstrual hygiene

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh is the second-worst state in the country in the use of hygienic methods for menstrual protection by women in 15-24 years age group, says the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5).

According to report, almost 39% of women in the above age bracket in Madhya Pradesh do not use a hygienic method of menstrual protection. Only Bihar is worse off, where 41% of women in the same age group don’t use hygienic methods.

There is a huge urban-rural disconnect with the percentage of women using hygienic methods in the urban areas being 82%. The corresponding figure for the rural areas is 53.4%.

The report also suggests that there is a direct link between educational level and safe menstrual practices. Among women who have had no schooling, only 25.9% use hygienic methods. The figure keeps on rising with the rise in the number of years spent in school. The figure is 37.7% for women with up to 5 years of schooling, 41% for 5-7 years, 52% for 8-9 years and 73% for 10-11 years. Almost 84% of the women who are educated up to Class 12 or higher use hygienic methods.

In terms of religion, Jains are at the top, with 88% of the women of community using safe methods. The corresponding figure is 60% for Hindus and 70.4% for Muslims. Among Scheduled Tribes, only 41% women use safe methods, followed by SCs (61%), OBC (64.7%) and others (76.5%).

Among women using hygienic methods, cloth is the most preferred means.

Lack of awareness

“There is a lack of awareness regarding menstrual hygiene, especially among socio-economically weaker sections. State government launched Udita scheme in 2015 to provide low-cost sanitary napkins to adolescent girls and women through Anganwadis and vending machines in schools and colleges. Many of these machines are lying unused,” says Samar Khan, social activist.