PERIOD POVERTY IS REAL

By Shiuli Sural

New Zealand is all over the news, be it their responsible handling of the COVID-19 virus, or PM Jacinda Ardern’s boldly brilliant initiatives. They are reaching new heights in healthcare, and the whole world is praising Arden’s (who became the youngest female head of govt in the world at age 37) governance.

Recently, the country added another feather in its already brimming cap- Schoolgirls in New Zealand will now receive free sanitary products as part of their government’s effort to end period poverty.

In its bid to support young people to continue learning at school, the government will be paying for necessary items such as sanitary pads and tampons in schools across the country.

Period poverty is a very real issue, and it mostly affects women and girls that cannot afford or do not have access to safe and hygienic sanitary products. It is a term used to refer to the lack of awareness and education about menstrual health and lack of access to sanitary products and facilities. The most obvious and prevalent case is of limited access to hygiene products. This leads to prolonged use of the same tampons or pads, which are known to cause various infections and diseases.

According to a One KidsCan survey from 2018 found out that one of three women in New Zealand had to choose between buying food and sanitary products, with some respondents saying that they had to use toilet paper, rags, old clothes, and even diapers when they could not afford tampons or pads.

The government of New Zealand will be investing a whopping $2.6 million in the initiative.

The PM announced – “Our plan to halve child poverty in 10 years is making a difference but there is more to do, and with families hit hard by the COVID-19 global pandemic it’s important to increase that support in the areas it can make an immediate difference. 95,000 nine- to 18-year-olds may stay at home during their periods due to not being able to afford period products. By making them freely available, we support these young people to continue learning at school,” Ardern said.

New Zealand’s Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter, also added: “Menstruation is a fact of life for half the population and access to these products is a necessity, not a luxury.”

This initiative is going to be introduced during term three at 15 schools in the region of Waikato on the North Island. The roll-out will begin at 15 Waikato schools and will then be expanded to all state and state-integrated schools on an opt-in basis in 2021.

While Twitter is rightly flooding with appreciation, praising this move by the NZ govt, let’s take a look closer home at India’s struggle with ensuring menstrual hygiene.

INDIA’S TRYST WITH MENSTRUAL HYGIENE
New Zealand’s brave move makes us realize how little has been done for menstrual hygiene in India.
The Indian government had levied a 12% tax on Sanitary pads under India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was launched in July 2017.

This unfair and irresponsible decision triggered protests, petitions and court cases that questioned why the government taxed pads as a luxury rather than as an essential item.

It took a harsh, long battle of endless protests, surveys and online petitions to get sanitary pads tax free. Finally, on June 2018 pads were declared tax free of the 12 percent tax under GST.
However, this battle is far from over. Materials and inputs like polythene film and glue used to produce sanitary napkins continue to attract GST rate of 18% and inputs like release paper, wood pulp attract GST at the rate of 12%.
This means that ultimately the price of sanitary products has risen (tax or no tax), making it even more difficult for people from the lower end of the economy to purchase these products. Not surprisingly, India’s global rank in healthcare is a dissatisfying 154.

According to the Family Health Survey 2018, of the approximately 336 million menstruating women in India about 121 million (roughly 42 percent) women use sanitary napkins, which are both locally and/or commercially produced.

If there is an impediment in the manufacture of these products, the hygiene conditions will deteriorate and women will be more prone to menstrual infections and diseases like cervical cancer, Reproductive Tract Infections, Hepatitis B infection, various types of yeast infections and Urinary Tract Infection.

Women and trans men from rural and marginalised areas will be even worse off as they already have very less access to healthcare and hygiene products.

The cultural and social shame attached to menstruation belittles women even further. The lack of hygiene, lack of education about hygiene and lack of supply of hygiene products has affected millions of women and trans-men across countries, timezones and continents. In India, despite the introduction of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Abhiyaan, the disturbing reality of rural women speaks volumes for itself.

The current world situation has rendered them even more helpless. In the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus, innumerable women in rural areas do not have rudimentary access to sanitary napkins, tampons, clean water and several other hygiene products. Some of these have been demarcated by the Indian Government as non-essential goods, causing supply issues across the country in the dark times of a global pandemic.

Big Basket, Amazon and Grofers are finding it increasingly difficult to get supplies of these products in this situation. This sad state of affairs hits women and trans-men from lower castes, low economic backgrounds and poor classes the most.

Out of all the states, the Telangana and Karnataka government have enlisted items such as sanitary napkins, soap and other hygienic products as essential goods.

This reality demands quick, lasting and effective solutions. The citizens and government both have important roles to play in this. As citizens, and as human beings, raise awareness about period poverty being real.
As for the government, the first step is to reduce and remove the institutionalized misogyny from within the government itself.
 There needs to be a revision of the list of “essential goods” which needs to include all the hygiene products like tampons, sanitary pads and even medecines related to menstruation.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Minsitry of Women and Child Development and the Prime Minister’s office need to take steps and ensure uninterrupted supply of hygiene products in affected areas.

The hard reality for almost 58% women in India is that they have to go through their everyday lives without these essential products, something we cannot even fathom sitting in our homes in the city. So, speak up and spread the word. Period Poverty is real. And it needs to be tackled.