PERIOD POVERTY is when people are unable to afford menstrual products such as sanitary pads and have no access to facilities such as bathrooms and running water. Why is this important? Because it is only when girls and women have access to menstrual products and facilities that they can be in good health and not suffer from preventable infections and diseases that reduce the quality of their lives or even shorten their lifespan. Moreover, access to these facilities ensure that girls and women can go to their school or go to their workplace and not be denied an education or employment. 

Tare Zameen Foundation is a Delhi-based NGO that runs a program called Sakha which distributes free sanitary pads to underprivileged girls and women and conducts awareness programs in local communities to educate people about menstruation and break taboos. Tare Zameen Foundation implements the Sakha program in the South Delhi area with the goal of ensuring that girls and women no longer suffer from poor health and deprivation. In fighting period poverty, we can help more people from marginalized backgrounds live healthier and more fulfilled lives with full access to their rights. 

Unable to afford sanitary pads, many girls and women are forced to use and re-use old pieces of cloth. This practice is unclean and unsanitary and causes potentially serious health complications that require medication and hospitalization which are also inaccessible to girls and women from marginalized communities. 

The impact of period poverty on girls and women

In poor and marginalized communities across India, there are millions of families who are too poor to afford menstrual products. Once girls in these families start menstruating, they are left with no option but to stay home from school for a while or even drop out of school entirely. This impacts their lives in a permanent and drastic manner. Without an education, girls are confined to the home, married early and are stripped of opportunities to accomplish their goals in life before they can even discover their potential. 

For women, the situation is just as dire. Women from poor backgrounds are often employed in domestic work, construction or daily wage labor. Without access to sanitary pads, these women have to stay home from work and for those who are daily wage laborers, this can often lead to women being terminated from their jobs and losing their income which, although meager, is all they have to keep their households running. If these women are unable to work, this impacts how much food is at home or whether the children can go to school.   

The taboo against menstruation

In addition to the lack of access to menstrual products, bathrooms and running water, girls and women also suffer from the stigma against menstruation. When periods are regarded as dirty or unclean, girls and women are excluded from not just education or employment, but are even prohibited from entering their kitchens, sleeping in their beds, touching food, drinking from the same water sources or even being in the presence of others. This discrimination cripples girls and women, rendering them unable to participate or engage with others in their homes and communities.

Tare Zameen Foundation’s Sakha program

The organization’s program Sakha is implemented in the underprivileged areas of Babu Camp, Sambav Camp, Vimbasti, Viru camp and Sapera Basti near Chattarpur in South Delhi. 

Sakha: distributing free sanitary pads

Sakha packs and distributes free sanitary napkin kits for girls and women to allow them to be healthier and have access to their classrooms and workplaces. In distributing menstrual products to girls and women, Tare Zameen Foundation fights period poverty and strengthens families. Having access to safe menstrual products means that girls and women no longer need to use old cloth and other household objects during their periods. 

Sakha: conducting awareness sessions 

In addition to the distribution of sanitary napkin kits, the NGO also conducts awareness sessions with members of the local community. The program’s team members empower the girls and women with practical information about menstruation and menstrual practices to assist women and break the stigma. For the members of the community, the program helps people understand the normal process that menstruation is and encourage them to end the discrimination.

Support Tare Zameen Foundation

Your donation to Tare Zameen Foundation’s program Sakha will help girls and women in South Delhi access life-saving sanitary pads which will give them the ability to study, work and engage in their local communities. To support Tare Zameen Foundation, you can donate here:

Support Tare Zameen Foundation

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