16-year-old girl advocating for menstrual hygiene in Ludhiana's villages
Babushahi Bureau
Ludhiana, January 22, 2022: National Girl Child Day is celebrated to offer more support and new opportunities to the girls of our country. Even though the female literacy rate is still 53.87% in our country, girls from rural India are realizing the importance of education and are inspiring others as well.
Walking in the same path, Simranjeet Kaur of Khanpur Village, Ludhiana, is the first girl to come up with an initiative of educating females in her community and spreading knowledge about the practice of safe menstrual hygiene practices and the availability of sanitary products along with an emphasis on the necessity of a balanced diet.
In India, one of the most serious health concerns for women is menstruation hygiene. Only 121 million of India's 336 million menstruation people use sanitary napkins, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2015-16.
Menstrual hygiene management in rural regions is a major challenge due to lack of information as well as social taboos around menstruation. Breaking this taboo, Simranjeet has influenced over 100 girls in and around her village till date, and she hopes to expand her awareness campaign across Punjab.
With the support of Satya Bharti School along with her teacher, she conceptualized this initiative in 2019. Further, she was recognized for her initiatives, for which she was awarded a bronze medal in the ‘Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards 2019’ (an annual nationwide search to identify and recognize school students who have made a positive difference in their communities through volunteer community service).
Currently, she has joined Jawahar Navodhaya Vidyalaya, Khanpur but nevertheless, she remains committed to the cause of educating girls about menstrual hygiene and safe menstrual practices.
In addition to her village, she has been involved in conducting weekly sessions, every Sunday, involving the girls from her nearby villages like Kalas Kalan, Ghumana, Bhadarpur and Kalas Khurd.
With the strong and unrelenting support of the village Sarpanch and other community members, Simranjeet and her mother not only generate awareness around menstrual hygiene and safe menstrual practices but also ensure the provision of sanitary napkins to the young girls.
As COVID-19 has restricted the physical movement of many across the world, Simranjeet has not let this become a hurdle to her goal. She has taken her initiative virtually and is educating girls and their mothers with the help of her teachers (both from Jawahar Navodhaya Vidyalaya and Satya Bharti School) and have recorded an attendance of a minimum of 30 participants each session.
Simaranjeet is an inspiration to other ladies in India who want to work for society and change traditional practices and beliefs. She aims to be an IPS officer in order to better serve the nation.