What India wants is a bleeding woman!!

A women if bleeds, she is considered fertile, useful for reproduction in our society. In many parts of remote villages of India, where woman is nothing but a reproduction tool, it is this phenomenon of “bleeding” which make her important and suitable for getting married. Yet, menstruation is discussed in whispers hidden from men. In a study conducted by AC Neilson, it was found only 12% of India's 355 million menstruating women use sanitary napkins. Most of the women are found using old cloths, rags or even sands. This paper attempts to explain about menstrual health management (MHM) of adolescent girl in low and middle income group. In low income group buying a sanitary napkin is considered luxury. In a study by ICMR it was found that 70% of mothers consider menstruation ‘dirty’ and ‘polluting’ with many teachers and frontline health workers echoing this sentiment. This perpetuates a culture of silence, shame and misinformation to the next generation. This paper attempts to delve in various sectors of MHM like awareness of menarche, type of absorbent used, source of information about MHM, restrictions and disposal methods. The research is based on primary data collection through snowball sampling of adolescent girl belonging to low and middle income groups residing in various parts of south Kolkata.