MENSTRUAL HYGIENE EDUCATION SESSIONS
#SMASHTHESTIGMA
We have been fortunate to work with over 5,000 women in India since our inception and meet the monthly menstrual hygiene needs of over 4,000 of them for the next three years. That's over 1,008,000 periods served ! We have conducted sessions in red light districts, villages, municipal schools, tribal hamlets (Adivasi areas), other NGOs, and in many other settings. We continue to host these sessions to dispel myths about menstruation with an interactive and heavily visual sessions conducted in local languages and dialects in multiple states in India and continue to pave way for a nationwide movement to #smashthestigma surrounding menstrual and reproductive health.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND SUSTAINIBILITY
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Within a lifetime, a single menstruator can generate 125 kilograms worth of menstrual waste. A single sanitary napkin can take more than 500 years to decompose. Given the lack of waste segregation and effective disposal of menstrual waste in India, we take climate action by promoting the use of eco-friendly period products whenever we can. Considering the funds available and the access to water supply of our audience, we prioritize the distribution of eco-friendly reusable menstrual hygiene products which last the women we work with for up to 3 years thereby minimizing environmental impact while providing long term access to period products. So far, we have purchased and distributed more than 2,000 eco-friendly menstrual hygiene kits. The kits themselves are produced by women from rural areas and by promoting their use we intend to reduce the cycle of dependency.
CHAPTERS
A nationwide movement to end the menstrual taboo
We firmly believe that 'every drop makes the ocean, but the ocean is made when every individual drop comes together.' A chapter is a branch of The Period Society led by students, individuals, or groups in different regions of India. Chapters have access to our menstrual hygiene education modules, support, organization structure, and occasionally even direct funding to implement campaigns as well as menstrual hygiene education sessions. So far our chapters have worked in Kolkata, West Bengal; Palanpur and Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Maharashtra; and Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. We have many more initiatives coming up in more areas and if you would like to begin a chapter in any state/union territory of India please reach out to us at info.theperiodsociety@gmail.com or on our Instagram page @periodsociety .