Villages now have frontrunners propagating a greener future by opting for menstrual cups & reusable cloth ... Read More

S ixteen months ago, fourty-three-year-old Lakshmidevamma, from Siddlaghatta in Chikkaballapura, switched from using regular sanitary napkins to using a menstrual cup and has not looked back since. “Once you stop feeling shy and understand the various benefits of using a cup, there is no turning back,” she says. Lakshmidevamma has now inspired 10 women in her village to switch to menstrual cups and around 80 more women in her village to switch to reusable cloth pads, which are not only a better alternative to the sanitary napkins, but are also a greener alternative. Interestingly, it is not just those in her village where women are making the switch, as people in more villages in the outskirts of Bengaluru are slowly inching towards a greener and cleaner future. Bangalore Times explores…

Village women championing the cause

Since Lakshmidevamma made the switch, she has been championing the cause of menstrual hygiene and urging fellow women to make the switch. Not just this, 46-year-old ASHA worker Nanjamma, at Bashettihalli Primary Health Centre in Siddlaghatta, has also been a cup user for the last one year. She says she was motivated after attending a Sustainable Menstrual Health Hygiene Management session held in her village. She, in turn, motivated five more women to switch to cups and 25 women to use reusable pads. Twenty-five-year-old Pavithra CR, from Bettahalasur village, made the switch in 2017 after attending a health and environment session under the Ecogram Project at her village. “I was asked to attend a workshop on solid waste management and composting along with 15 other women from my village. It was here that I learned about how harmful sanitary napkins are, not just for us, but for the environment. It was the first time that I learned about menstrual cups and I was extremely apprehensive initially, about how to use it and what will happen. But then I decided to give it a try. The first month, I felt uncomfortable, but after that, I have not looked back,” smiles Pavithra, who is also working with The Anonymous Indian Charitable Trust (Ecogram Project) and spreading the message about switching to reusable cups and pads since 2017. “People should understand how harmful these napkins are and the bigger harm they cause to the environment as they take over 500 years to decompose,” she adds. Now, Pavithra has inspired more than 150 women to use cloth pads and menstrual cups from seven villages in Bettahalasur village.

“It’s not always easy to convince women to use reusable pads and cups, but there has been a gradual change, and a number of women who are actually making the change are those in the villages. They are keen to hear more about how they can do their bit for a greener environment and, of course, for their own health,” says Jayaram Sathish from the Child Rights Trust (CRT), whose team and Rejuvenate India Movement (RIM), along with Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers, have been conducting several workshops on the topic.

Women in villages lead by example

Today, more than 1,008 women and girls in the Sidhlaghatta taluk have switched to using cloth pads and of them, 140 women have switched to using menstrual cups.

The switch is not just cost-effective, but also healthy

Retired gynaecologist and fertility expert, Dr. Meenakshi Bharath, who is actively working with the village women in Siddlaghatta and Tarahunse, adds, “It is very cost-effective and extremely comfortable and can be used by any women above 18 years. And it is surprising and great to see how rural women have taken this up and also are urging other women to take this up.” Talking about the feminine health benefits, she adds, “Using cups can reduce dysmenorrhea and white discharge. Stomach cramps are also reduced. One can travel wearing these without any problem.”

