The International Management Institute (IMI), Kolkata, carried out a menstrual hygiene campaign in East Burdwan recently.
Sanitary napkin vending machines were set up in rural schools and sanitary kits distributed among schoolgirls as part of an awareness programme on ‘Stay-Free: Celebration of Freedom, Period!’.
In Claret School, Sahanagar, Burdwan, a sanitary napkin vending machine was set up and 100 napkins were supplied. Students have to deposit a token amount Rs 5 to use the machine.
At Radhakantapur High School, Memary, Burdwan, IMI Kolkata, has been supplying sanitary napkins for three months.
Dr. Ajoy Ghosh, physician from Kolkata, and his team addressed students at these schools to raise awareness on menstrual hygiene.
Gobinda Roy, assistant professor, marketing, and chairperson (social media, branding and website committee, IMI Kolkata; Karabi Bhattacharya Rao, head of admissions and branding, IMI Kolkata; Fr. Peter Johnson, principal, Claret School; Fr. Philip Dayanand, vice-principal, Claret School, and Asit Ranjan Adhikari, teacher-in-charge, Radhakantapur High School, were also part of the campaign.
“It is imperative to speak about menstrual hygiene. The topic has long been a taboo in Indian society. As an educational institute, we wanted to reach out to and support the less-privileged young girls, to prevent them from losing out on opportunities in life. Thus, IMI Kolkata has taken an initiative to spread awareness on menstrual hygiene and to increase access to and use of high-quality sanitary napkins among young girls in rural areas. We plan to reach out to many more schools in future and be a source of guidance and support in these lesser talked about areas,” said Mohua Banerjee, director, IMI Kolkata.
