Mrida Group to undertake health and hygiene workshops for rural women
Mrida Group, a social enterprise working with Base of the Pyramid and underserved rural communities, is partnering with Pee Safe to provide menstrual cups, free of cost, to rural women. The distribution of products will be preceded by a workshop to create awareness about safe & hygienic menstrual practices.
The workshops aim to educate the women on the necessity of hygienic behaviour during menstruation - which includes providing the women with information about affordable, accessible & safe sanitary products. The public fundraising campaign on the Donatekart website allows people to purchase Pee Safe’s menstrual cups, which will then be provided to partner NGOs/ social enterprises for distribution - one of which is Mrida. The menstrual cups will be distributed in villages around Bareilly & Sultanpur in UP and Bokaro in Jharkhand.
The fundraising campaign will run over a week where people can donate a minimum of one cup. Post the campaign, workshops in the villages will be conducted over two months (February and March 2020) which will focus on health and hygiene, the biology of menstruation & safe period practices. By providing the women with the menstrual cups (free of cost), Mrida is securing their menstrual health for the next 5 years or more.
“Health and Hygiene are two of our focal areas in the rural communities that we operate in. Team Mrida has been conducting periodic workshops with rural women on issues that impact them the most and we are happy to be partnering with Pee Safe in introducing their products to rural women. We have been focusing on sustainable products and that is what the menstrual cup is: it eliminates monthly spends on sanitary products, alleviates the concern of disposal & is the most environment friendly menstrual product in the market,” says Ms. Gurveen Sood, Co-Founder and Director, Mrida Group.
Menstruation is still a taboo subject in most parts of India and it is estimated that only 12 per cent of all women across India (Urban and Rural) use Sanitary Pads. A large number of rural girls dropout of school on hitting puberty due to issues related to menstruation and the lack of availability of hygienic products. Most women in rural communities still use cloth or leaves for their periods and are either unaware of the products available, have not been educated on the need for menstrual hygiene or are unable to use them due to high costs. Infections are 70 per cent more common in women who do not have sanitary ways of managing their menstrual cycles.
“We are happy to collaborate with Donatekart & Mrida Group towards ensuring better hygiene for women in the rural areas. While menstrual cups may be a new concept for women, we are sure that with some awareness generation, we can help them see the advantages of using this product. Apart from the fact that they help in avoiding infections caused due to lack of period hygiene from using cotton or cloth, menstrual cups are also economical -- since they last for many years.
