Pilot project launched: In a first, women in Rajkot villages to get menstrual cups at subsidised rates

As part of the pilot project, Chaudhary has allotted Rs 1.20 lakh from DDO’s discretionary fund to the village-level organisation (VO) of five self-help groups (SHGs) in Nagalpar village. Through DRDA, he has also facilitated a memorandum of understanding between the Nagalpar VO and Lal Sakhi. As part of the agreement, Lal Sakhi will provide the initial batch of around 200 menstrual cups at subsidised rates to the Nagalpar VO and train 100 women from the village to use the cups.

Chaudhary and Jangra inaugurated the three-day workshop for Nagalpar women and formally launched the project Thursday.

“Periods continue to be a taboo, especially in villages. Nobody wants to talk about periods, despite it being a function of the human body. Women in villages still use pieces of paper for soaking up menstrual discharge but such practise lacks proper hygiene and leads to infections. Sanitary napkins are costly and there are issues of disposal. In such a scenario, menstrual cups, which are reusable and each piece having a utility for at least five years, is a better solution,” Chaudhary told The Indian Express.

Lal Sakhi, run by Bhopal-based Jangra, works in the areas of menstrual health and preventing pollution caused by unscientific ways of disposal of sanitary napkins.

“The Nagalpar VO will pay for the initial batch of around 200 menstrual cups from the grant. Once 100 women are trained, the plan is for these women to reach out to other women, persuade them to use the cups and provide them at subsidised rates of around Rs 200. This way, the VO will promote menstrual health as well as generate some revenue,” Baiya said.

Depending on the response, the project will be replicated in other parts of the district. “A woman can purchase a menstrual cup by paying Rs 10 upfront. She will have the option of paying the balance Rs 190 in equated monthly instalments of Rs 10,” said Chaudhary, adding, “This will make the cups affordable to women. However, we have kept price tags for these cups as people tend to not value what is available free of cost.”

Incidentally, DRDA has facilitated a cluster of SHGs in setting up a sanitary napkin manufacturing plant in Atkot village of Jasdan taluka. The Central government has provided Rs 10 lakh for setting up this plant under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rural Urban Mission.