After having realised that a number of girls in his village were dropping out of school over the taboos surrounding menstruation, the head of Khairahi village in Uttar Pradesh, Hari Prasad, decided to take matters into his own hands, reported The Times of India.
Prasad learnt that the girls from his village are among 28 lakh women who miss school because of menstruation. "The girls felt embarrassed for something which is the very basis of life," he told The Times of India.
Prasad joined UNICEF's Project Garima, which attempts to tackle the taboo in UP’s Mirzapur, Jaunpur and Sonebhadra. According to UNICEF, Project Garima “aims at piloting a social and behavioural change and communication strategy for menstrual health and hygiene management among rural adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years who have experienced or are about to experience menarche”.
The first step, he said, was to get rid of the taboo around menstruation among families. "I told the fathers that if females do not have periods, no one would be born. This is the way nature has made them and this was not a matter to be ashamed of in any way," Prasad told TOI.
Over 35 girls have rejoined school after they were counselled by Hari Prasad.
Government data reveals that 60 percent girls missed school due to menstruation and over 19 lakh girls eventually dropped out. "The Health Department stocked sanitary pads and ensured that they were given to the girls," he told daily.
And he has been given an apt name for his grit and determination – ‘Padman’ after the Akshay Kumar film.
(With inputs from The Times of India)
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