Bid to highlight menstrual issues at flood relief camps

The petition has called for inclusion of sanitary pads in the State government�s list of essential relief materials prepared for all flood shelters.

�A �gift box� containing pads and hygiene kits has been delivered to the minister�s office to urge him to include menstrual hygiene products in the list of essential relief materials provided by the government at flood shelters. Besides the pads, the box contains � as part of a hygiene kit � hand sanitizer, bathing soap, detergent powder, bleaching powder, phenyl, a mosquito coil, a pair of underwear and a face mask,� a statement issued by Change.org India said.

Mayuri has also urged the 72,000 supporters of her petition to order eco-friendly sanitary pads online and mail them to the minister.

Floods have affected lakhs of people across Assam, pushing them to take refuge at flood relief shelters set up by the government. �However, women at these camps end up as the worst sufferers, with no access to menstrual hygiene products. Why? Because sanitary napkins/ menstrual hygiene products are not included in the list of essential relief material provided by the government at flood shelters,� the petition said.

Mayuri�s petition asking the State government to build 50 women-friendly flood relief shelters has been signed by almost 72,000 people and continues to gather momentum. In fact, last year, the then state Disaster Management Minister Bhabesh Kalita had responded to her campaign promising action, but later said that �including pads would require a budgetary allocation�, which led Mayuri to come up with the idea of sending a gift box containing pads to Finance Minister Sarma.

The products in the gift box have been specially procured from a local social enterprise, The Eco Hub at Bokakhat.

�Lakhs of girls and women of Assam are caught in floods every year, and with no access to sanitary pads at flood relief shelters, they face great difficulty dealing with their periods. Some of them are even forced to bleed on their clothes. Thus, women go through a nightmare of unhygienic periods, floods and now even the pandemic,� Mayuri said.

�Access to menstrual hygiene products is every woman�s right. For those in distress, like lakhs of flood-affected women in Assam�s flood shelters, it becomes even more crucial. On August 15 in his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the importance of women�s hygiene and sanitary napkins. The Assam government should pay heed to the PM�s message and take the lead in building these women-friendly flood relief shelters where women have access to menstrual hygiene products. I am sending this gift box with locally sourced pads to send a message that solutions are available if the government wants to work with citizens like us,� she added.

Nida Hasan, country director of Change.org India, said it was high time that the State Health and Finance Minister �figures out the budget and logistics to ensure that sanitary pads are included in the list of essential relief materials for all flood shelters.�