DEHRADUN: As many as 62% young women in the country in the age group 15 to 24 years still use cloth for menstrual protection , as per the national family health survey (NFHS) IV whose findings were released recently. According to the report which pertains to the years 2015-16, a staggering 82% young women in Bihar still depend on clothes for protection during their menstrual cycle. The situation is almost similar in Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh where the percentage of young women using cloth during their periods is 81% in each state.The report surveyed the percentage of women who used “hygienic methods” of menstrual protection which were categorized as either locally prepared napkins or other sanitary napkins and tampons. The survey found that 42 % young women in the country used sanitary napkins while 16 % used locally prepared napkins. Majority of women in rural areas did not use a hygienic method of menstrual protection with the survey findings indicating that only 48% of those surveyed in rural India used sanitary napkins during their menstrual cycle as against 78% in urban parts of the country.The report indicates that there is a direct link between education and wealth and use of hygienic method of menstrual protection. “Women with 12 or more years of schooling are more than four times as likely to be using a hygienic method as women with no schooling at all. Similarly, women from the highest wealth quintile are more than four times as likely to use a hygienic method as women from the lowest wealth quintile,” the report said.According to the report, states like Mizoram (93%), Tamil Nadu (91%), Kerala (90%), Goa (89%) and Sikkim (85%) fared well in terms of percentage of women who use hygienic methods of menstrual protection while states like Maharashtra (50%), Karnataka (56%) and Andhra Pradesh (43%) had low percentage of women using safe methods. Incidentally, even in a small state like Uttarakhand , almost 55% young women used cloth for menstrual protection which doctors say may be making them prone to reproductive tract infections. “It is time that easy availability of sanitary napkins is facilitated especially in remote areas so that women’s health is not compromised,” said Dr Sadhana Chauhan, a senior gynaecologist from Dehradun who has worked extensively in the Jaunsar Bawar region of the Himalayan state where cultural taboos prevent women from using hygienic methods of menstrual protection.The problem is compounded by the fact that even when pads are being provided to women at bare minimum prices by the government, they are often not being given regularly. Also, many young girls are too shy to ask for them from health workers who are designated to provide them. “It is awkward for us to ask for these things. Often, they are not available as well. The government should ensure that pads meant for us are given to one of the women in our locality from where we an take them without hesitation,” said Noor Jahan, an eighteen-year-old from Gujjar Basti in the Pathri area of Haridwar.