Dibrugarh : Menstrual Hygiene Day or MHD is a globally recognized annual awareness day highlighting the management of good menstrual hygiene. This day is observed worldwide generating cognizance of the importance of keeping oneself hygienically safe through proper knowledge and inculcating confidence among women and girls, who are limited to only pre-dated techniques of hygiene owing to their menstruation due to social and cultural barriers.
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The Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual event which was initiated in the year 2014 by the German based NGO WASH United which aims to benefit women and girl worldwide through their awareness program. May 28th was selected as the day to acknowledge that 28 days is the average length of the menstrual cycle.
The theme for this year’s MHD is- It’s Time for Action”. Owing to its theme, the “time for action” ABITA-UNICEF celebrated Menstrual Hygiene Day in various tea harden under the Assam Branch India Tea Association (ABITA) with the sole objective of creating awareness among the tea garden community on “Menstrual Hygiene Management” as well as keeping in mind its theme- “It’s time for action”.
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The objective of this campaign is to spread knowledge to each and every girl, woman, including men and their family members of proper hygiene management providing the correct knowledge about menstruation and how to keep oneself clean during “those days”.
Confidence and proper guidance is provided to women and young girls to not feel stigmatized due to misguided beliefs of societal norms but are instead help them realize their basic rights so as to overcome gender inequity and go away with age old erroneous cultural marker separating women and girls who are menstruating.
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A week long programme was conducted by ABITA-UNICEF under the “RED DOT CHALLENGE” where the team shared their thoughts as well as spread awareness on the various taboo surrounding menstruation and bust myths that have always projected menstruating women and girls as a “non entity of the society” during the menstruating time period. Various activities such as Awareness program on MHM, drawing competition, rally, essay competition, slogan writing, WASH awareness, street plays were conducted to raise awareness surrounding menstruation. Apart from this, the team collaborated with the District administration that helped in providing certificates to the three best participants by the concerned deputy commissioner of Dibrugarh district.
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A total of 5000 people were covered in the first program that was conducted by the concerned team during the menstrual hygiene management week in the entire Zone 1. A total of 3850 adolescent girls empowered from this awareness program through period education in ABITA zone 1.
Inspiring Statements
Minati Tanti an adolescent girls of Romai T.E told that after attending the Menstrual hygiene Session in the MHM week we understood about how we should maintain hygiene during the periods . This will immensely help us to avoid transmitted disease to be occurred from unhygienic behaviourl practices during the periods.