Menstrual hygiene management among rural women in Punjab (India)

About 52% of the female population globally is of reproductive age. It means menstruation is part of their normal life and menstrual hygiene is therefore an essential part of basic hygienic practices for the 1.8 billion women (House et al., 2012). Menstruation impacts development as well as the lives of girls and women in terms of health, education, work, mobility and quality of life. Despite this, menstruators keep on facing multiple social, cultural and non-secular restrictions that pose an additional challenge in ensuring adequate menstrual hygiene management. Millions of menstruators across the planet are denied the right to manage their monthly menstrual cycle in a dignified and healthy way. One of the reasons for the same is cultural taboos related to reproductive health. The study was carried out in village Sohana, District SAS Nagar in the State of Punjab in India. The findings of the study revealed that there are several myths that persisted in the rural areas which made this period a very difficult one for women. Most of the rural women had lack of knowledge and awareness about menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Hence, they blindly followed the cultural taboos and myths. The study also suggests remedial measures to overcome the challenges faced while ensuring effective menstrual hygiene management among rural women.