Girls and women of Assam campaign for menstrual hygiene

The initiative was taken by a couple – Uttam Teron and Aimoni Tumung, who runs Parijat Academy, a school of unprivileged childrens at Pamohi area, outskirts of Guwahati city.

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Parijat Academy was established in 2003 and the couple has taken initiative to aware among the girls and women of Pamohi village and other remote areas to adopt sanitary napkins.

They also teaching them how to sew reusable sanitary napkins and use it in low cost.

Aimoni Tumung said that, they have started the initiative in July 2017, when volunteers from Florida working on a social initiative campaign ‘Days for Girls’ visited Parijat Academy.

“The volunteers of ‘Days for Girls’ helped teach girls and women at Parijat academy how to sew reusable sanitary napkins. By making hygienic sanitary pads, the girls and women have also earned money. Costs of these reusable sanitary napkins are very marginable. Each reusable sanitary napkin can be used for about three years. Each reusable sanitary napkin costs Rs 110 for large size and Rs 80 for small size,” Aimoni Tumung said.

Farming is the main source of most of the people of Pamohi, Garbhanga and some other remote villages and they wouldn’t effort to buy general sanitary napkins from the market.

“I think, this initiative is very good for girls and women. We feel very comfort by using this reusable sanitary pad,” Seuti Teron an educated girl of Pamohi who also engaged with the awareness campaign said.

On the other hand, a Canadian educationalist Marguerite Andrews, who visited Parijat Academy first time in 2009 and continuously visited the school every year said that, the initiative taken by the academy is good for environmentally and educationally.  

Uttam Teron, the man behind the campaign said that, to help the remote villagers, the Parijat Academy is now planning to free distribute 10,000 hygienic reusable sanitary napkins among the poor girls and women of these remote areas to change their lives.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)