•Cultural Background•

“In the olden days, women in their menstruation period were considered untouchables,” Vaishali Biniwale, a notable Indian OB/GYN, told The Borgen Project. “It was thought that menstrual blood is impure blood making menstruating women unclean. They were not allowed to touch anyone or anything in the house.

What’s worse, she added, these customs are still followed in some Indian communities today. In Biniwale’s home state of Maharashtra, for example, the women of the Gond and Mandia tribes still face extreme isolation. Women are not allowed to touch their family members and must live in isolated huts for the duration of their menstrual cycle. These tribes live in one of the poorest districts in the country, which is linked to a similarly limited change in public health practices.

The National Family Health Survey estimated that nearly 46% of the Indian tribal population lived below the poverty line in 2015 and 2016 — the highest rate for any minority group.

•Impact on Women•

It’s important to note that with increased health education for Indian children, this practice has become less prevalent in most areas of the country. A more pressing problem plaguing Indian communities is a lack of access to toiletries. “Women in affluent, urban areas in modern India have access to a variety of toiletries to maintain good hygiene and avoid health-related issues,” Biniwale said, but added that access to health resources is lacking in the everyday lives of Indian women.

Limited access to bathrooms, as seen in rural areas and villages, can lead women to bathe in local rivers with their clothes on, leading to various skin infections. Local farms and factory jobs have neither bathrooms nor closed-off field areas to use the restroom, which can limit the ability of local women to work on-site jobs. “Many women use homemade sanitary napkins from old clothes, which are reusable,” Biniwale said. “They need to be cleaned thoroughly after use to avoid infections. The disposal of sanitary napkins is a major problem in itself. It can spread infections, if not disposed of properly.”

Read more- https://www.borgenmagazine.com/womens-health-in-india/