Girls studying in the schools of the capital Delhi are still hesitant to go to school during the days of menstruation. This condition is when the Delhi government has given instructions to install ‘sanitary napkin disposal’ machines in the toilets of more than 550 schools of the corporation along with its schools in January 2021 itself. One and a half years have passed but apprehensions about the use of these machines remain. Not only this, in some schools the girls are reluctant to use these machines, while in many schools these machines are not working at all. In these small machines, sanitary napkins are put on fire and it turns into ashes.

Girls come to school less during menstruation, because the machine is installed here, but it is not used. We ourselves have to advise the girls to throw the napkin in the right way.

– A school teacher

A government school teacher in Delhi, on the condition of anonymity, admitted that girls come to school less during menstruation because the machines are installed here, but they are not used. “We ourselves have to advise the girls to throw the napkin in the right way,” she says. Hema, a Class 12 student studying in the same government school, told that she does not use the toilet in the school during those seven to eight hours. She says that while the sanitation facilities in the school have increased, the taboos about sanitary napkins remain the same.

The initiative was launched with an aim to ensure menstrual hygiene and eco-friendly disposal of sanitary napkins. Under this, the Project Approval Board of the Ministry of Education had planned to procure sanitary napkin incinerators and install them in 3,204 toilet blocks of 553 schools of Directorate of Education and MCD. But the situation has not changed much.

“The machines are on but they don’t work despite pressing the button again and again,” said a class 11 student studying in a government school in the south Delhi region. A teacher from the same school told that no student should harm herself, so she is kept away from the machine.

The Delhi government, in its order, had said that first of all the responsibility of the machines should be given to a lab technician or a science teacher and the girl students should be trained in its use in a phased manner. According to the National Family Health Survey-V data, 80 per cent of out-of-school girls use cloth during menstruation and only 32 per cent of girls use sanitary napkins. At the same time, among school going girls, this figure is 35.6 and 76.8 percent, respectively.

In relation to the use of these machines, the principal of a government school in East Delhi, Bina said that despite the machines being installed, girls take leave during menstruation . However, complaints have also been received in some schools regarding malfunctioning of these machines. But school principals and teachers say that there are no clear guidelines regarding their repair.

A zone director of the Delhi Directorate of Education, on the condition of anonymity, said, “As per the order, the machines were installed on time. After this, it is now the responsibility of the Principal of the concerned school to see all the working of the machines. It is a separate issue that the sanitary pads given to girl students under the Delhi Government’s ‘Kishori Yojana’ in Delhi government schools, are not being provided for a long time, regarding which the NGO Social Media has filed a complaint in the Delhi High Court. The jurist also filed a petition.

According to the NFHS-5 report, 64.5 percent of girls in the age group of 15-19 years in India use sanitary napkins, 49.3 percent of girls use cloth, 15.2 percent of girls use locally made napkins, 1.7 percent of girls use tampons and 0.3 percent of women use menstrual cups. . Overall, 78 per cent of girls in this age group followed a hygienic method during menstruation, compared to 57.7 per cent in NFHS-4.

 

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