Health

A nice breezy evening under the moon light with two torches. We were discussing about menstruation openly, frankly and loudly!!!!
I walked through the narrow lanes, climbed up the staircase and reached a small terrace in a slum where a lot of people involved in sex work live … There were no street lights but the big fat moon was shining above in its majesty.

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“कोई कोई एक कपड़ा चार बार इस्तेमाल करे है, कोई दस बार.” (some of us use one cloth 4 times while others use it 10 times). Another woman said, “माहवारी समस्या लगती है. अपनी समस्या किस्से कहे, अपने मर्द से भी नहीं कहे सकतें. जब कपड़ा गंधा भी मिल जाता है. धो कर सुखा लेते है माहवारी के लिए.” (Menstruation seems like a problem.

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“Even today at times of emergency while working in the field or when cloth is not available we use leaves from local Sal Trees.” The women of Koi tribe, Sugapada village of Daringbadi block, Odisha recently spoke to Goonj about their challenges around menstruation. Popularly called the Kashmir of Odisha; the Daringbadi block is surrounded by valleys,

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A group of women clad in the graceful traditional Rajasthani attire walked into Goonj’s Delhi processing center, it was a sight to behold. Their simple yet elegant disposition effortlessly attracted us. These women had travelled all the way from Barmer, Rajasthan along with Care India team to see Goonj’s work, especially our menstrual hygiene initiative NJPC,

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A girl from Miranda College, Delhi University said, “I have never bought a pad by myself.” You may find it strange but it’s true and unfortunately she was not the only one in the room saying the same thing.. Another girl in the room said “When I first came to study at the college from another town my mother gave me four packs of Pads,

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The Dire Need

For generations, mothers and grandmothers across the world have used cloth as a sanitary pad. It’s only in the last few decades that the big brands have taken over, in the name of convenience of ‘use and throw’. Yet, even today if you ask most women in a village, ‘How many saris do you have?’ many will tell you,

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