OUR HEROES

In the remote villages of Osian Block of Jodhpur district, women are overburdened with several difficulties. With the lockdown measures and the prevalent stigma against menstruation, new problems have soared up, especially for adolescent girls.
Amidst these difficulties, under our programme ‘Marriage not child’s play’ Urmul Trust in collaboration with Save The Children is operating in 13 villages of 5 panchayats of Osian Tehsil to inform people about sexual and reproductive health. The cluster coordinator Renu was spreading awareness about Coronavirus through the telephonic conversation when she came to know about the problem of sanitary napkins. It was found out that due to the lockdown restrictions, the distribution of sanitary pads in the village has been brought to a halt. With the shutting down of schools where sanitary pads were distributed, teenagers have to use clothes as an alternative now.
Some girls approached the Anganwadi Centre but didn’t get any resolution. One of the teenagers even called Renu to bring light to the situation. Urmila from Thob Panchayat called Renu and said “There are all men in the house except my sister and mother, I can’t bring up anything about menstruation in front of the men and when I ask my mother, she hands me a cloth”
Soon after, a memorandum was also written to the SDM by the adolescent girls of the Federation group regarding this problem but SDM refused to take the memo due to the irregularities because of the lockdown. Renu was disappointed but looking at the girls and their need for proper hygiene also motivated her.
Renu also approached the doctor of the Osian Sub Health Center about the problem of sanitary napkins in the village. Understanding the situation, he ensured the availability of sanitary napkins. But it was difficult to reach all those in need due to the restriction in transportation.
Eventually, the project Coordinator decided to take matters into her own hands; she decided to deliver the sanitary napkin to the adolescent girls herself and managed to distributed 3400 packets of sanitary napkins to the adolescent girls of the village. The girls in the village were finally relieved and appreciated the efforts of the Project Coordinator.
When we asked Renu, she believed that the teenage girls and their constant efforts were what motivated her to ensure that these girls bleed safely.