Royal backing to social concern

Swati Rai

For a long time now, menstrual health and hygiene issues have been largely dusted under the carpet. They have surfaced intermittently at high society charity events, but largely considered an issue collocated with the hoi polloi. In the last few years, however, a Padman here and a Rupi Kaur there have tried to draw attention to the issue. And now when the UK royals asked their guests to not gift and instead donate to Myna Mahila Foundation from Mumbai, the attention was drawn to the issue once again.

The charity that encourages women to make their own pads is barely three years old and was founded by Suhani Jalota to take up the issues and taboos surrounding menstrual health. “The idea was to build a dialogue around this aspect of female health and empower women to speak about these. Just like the chatty Myna bird,” says Jalota, who attended the wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle along with Archana Ambre, the distribution manager, and Deborah Das, the HR and production manager.

Jalota met Markle at an event that honoured her as one of the Glamour College Women of the Year in 2016. Her work struck a chord with Markle at the awards luncheon in New York City and, a year later, the American actress was in Mumbai to see Myna’s work for herself.

In India, where more than 40 per cent of Indian women in the age group of 15 to 24 years do not have access to sanitary products, the charity employs women from slum areas to manufacture inexpensive alternatives. It also ensures their distribution and raises awareness amongst women about the hygiene and health benefits of using pads instead of harmful rags or dry leaves, etc.

Myna reaches out to over 10,000 women a month and aims to reach 25,000 by the end of 2018. However, the impact of the effort is not measured in numbers only. The organisation looks into various related aspects. “For example, we also keep a track of these women switching from rags to pads; and whether they are experiencing lower rates of female health problems like vaginal and urinary tract infections. We also keep a close watch on data reflecting a decline in school dropout rate as a result of using these hygienic options,” says Jalota.

The UK visit has Jalota ecstatic. “The support from the couple (Prince Harry and Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex) is proving extremely helpful in raising awareness regarding our areas of work. The media attention towards our work and the visits to our websites have grown a hundred per cent,” she says.

And how about the wedding? “The experience was of once-in-a-lifetime variety. To be able to take two of our team members, who have never been on an aeroplane, to London, was a pleasure,” says Jalota, who thanks Padma Shri awardee Dr Jockin Arputham, director of Myna Mahila Foundation, for his support. Reportedly, Markle has told her that she will soon plan another trip to Myna. This one will be closely watched and hopefully bring more weight to the campaigns around menstrual health.

On the Duchess’ portal

The newly launched portal of The Duchess of Sussex carries the above photo of Meghan Markle at the Myna Mahila Foundation. It reads: “In the slum communities of Mumbai, The Duchess witnessed the work of the Myna Mahila Foundation who empower women through access to menstrual hygiene products and employment opportunities. Struck by her experience, she wrote an op-ed for Time Magazine about the stigmatisation of menstrual health management and its long term hindrance to girls’ education.”