Sanitary napkins for schoolgirls

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 24

Launching its ambitious project to promote menstrual hygiene, the state government has earmarked Rs 10 crore for providing sanitary napkins to girls from classes VI to XII. Starting this July, the project will benefit approximately 6.64 lakh students of government schools.

Giving details, a senior official of the DPI (Senior Secondary), said: “Girls in a majority of the government schools belong to weaker sections and can’t afford sanitary napkins. They often resort to unhealthy ways, which can harm them in the long run. The aim is to tell them how to maintain basic hygiene, which is necessary to keep their reproductive system healthy.”

Director General, School Education (DGSE), Prashant Kumar said: “We have got the official sanction and will go ahead with the tendering process soon.” This is not the first time that the state government has made a provision of providing sanitary napkins in its budget. A provision of Rs 24 crore was made in the budget of the previous SAD-BJP government in 2016-2017 under the ‘Swasth Kanya Yojana’. However, the scheme could not take off due to financial constraints.

Welcoming the move, the principal of a senior secondary school in Tarn Taran district, said: “The government initiative is important in light of the fact that a number of girls in our area bunk classes during their monthly cycle. Then there are those who have stopped coming to school because of the discomfort and pain. There is always a risk of falling sick, which is why the initiative means a lot to the girls and their families.”

The official note accompanying the sanction stated: “The focus is on girls belonging to the lower middle class and middle class living in rural and semi-urban areas of the state. These girls don’t know how to use a napkin. Money is another issue. They largely believe that sanitary napkins are for the educated and privileged.