Let us break stigma around menstruation: AIIMS Director

NEW DELHI: On the occasion of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, Randeep Guleria, director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, called for breaking the stigma around menstruation.

“In many parts of the country, women are not allowed to enter kitchen or stigma at the workplace when women have their normal physiological cycle of mensuration,” said Guleria. “It is important for all of us especially for men to understand that menstruation cycle is normal and there should be no stigma. For us in the healthcare community, good menstruation is important to prevent many diseases…Let us break the stigma about mensuration.”

According to a survey, dirty public toilets, disturbed sleep and cramps are some of the major concerns for women during menstruation.

The survey, conducted by feminine hygiene brand Everteen, revealed that approximately 53.2 % of participants do not sleep well during the first two days of their periods. Besides, 67.5% of the women get worried about the risk of spotting while sleeping during their periods.

Around 6,000 women in the age group 18 to 35 years spread across 35 cities were surveyed.

“It has been found that 57.3 % of women experienced moderate to severe menstrual cramps, while 37.2 per cent had mild or occasional menstrual pain. Around 62.2 % of women said they have never or only rarely changed a sanitary pad at a public toilet in an office, mall or cinema hall," said the survey.

About 74.6 % of women feel uncomfortable if they need to change sanitary pad at a public toilet and 88.3 % believe that dirty toilets can be a source of the persistent urinary tract infection.

Chirag Pan, CEO of PAN Healthcare, said there should be greater focus in macro-economic policies to set up hygiene benchmarks and audits of public toilets so that women can use them without hygiene and cleanliness concerns.

According to the survey, about 79.3 % of the respondents were aged 12 years or more when they experienced their first period.

Hariom Tyagi, CEO of Wet and Dry Personal Care, said the survey has shown that awareness on menstruation is gradually increasing, women are accepting a complete hygiene regime, but there is still a long way to go.