Women lack awareness on menstrual cycle: Survey

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, December 11

Negative beliefs and perceptions continue to challenge menstrual health management (MHM) in the country with a new survey revealing that more than 80 per cent of menstruating women are not allowed to visit religious places and over 70 per cent are not allowed to carry out routines at home during their periods.

A new path breaking report on the status of MHM covering 14 districts of seven states by Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation shows that more than half (57.4 per cent) women avoid travelling during their menstrual cycle, 72.3 per cent are not allowed to perform religious rituals and 30.5 per cent are not allowed to socialise during the cycle.

Detailed findings of the survey in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, indicate that a number of menstruating women lack awareness about the cause of their menstrual cycles.

In Assam, one-third of respondents were unaware of menstruation’s cause, rising to half in Bihar, 60 percent in Chhattisgarh, 40 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 14-19 per cent in Haryana and Maharashtra. Odisha reported an alarming 98 per cent unawareness.

The Foundation data suggests that lack of women doctors prevent menstruating women from seeking health care. “Our findings indicate that seven percent women prefer to completely skip consulting doctors for intimate health issues related to menstruation. While others citied the distance to medical help (1.7 per cent) and a shortage of women doctors (91.7 per cent) as major barriers.”

More than half of women facing reproductive tract infections, urinary tract infections, uterine and cervical disorders, and diseases cited not being able to pursue treatment as a major factor for their condition.

The researchers found that, aside from poverty and limited healthcare access, nearly half of respondents believed health issues like white discharge, pain, swelling, burning and itching near the vagina were not serious and didn’t require medical intervention.

Around, 26 per cent of women preferred silence and denial over discussing health risks. In the context of adolescent girls, inadequate sanitation facilities, including the lack of water, soap, doors, taps and dustbins in school toilets during menstruation, contribute to absenteeism from schools.

The report emphasises a lack of essential resources like pad-changing and disposal mechanisms, sufficient menstrual materials, and functional toilets with water and sanitation facilities.