The conversation on women’s health is incomplete if menstruation is not addressed. On average, a woman experiences her monthly period about 400 times in her lifetime. That is quite a significant number, considering most women have some or the other problem with their menstrual cycle at some point in their reproductive life span. In India, many women use sanitary napkins to contain menstrual flow, and some use cloth. Each of these methods has its drawbacks. The pattern of use of menstrual products has changed over the years, while the urban-rural divide continues.
The United Nations defines period poverty as “the inability to afford and access menstrual products, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and education and awareness to manage menstrual health.[1]” The various cultural and social practices, taboos that surround menstruation, the cost of menstrual products, and scarcity of water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in schools, workplaces, and homes across the country results in dire period poverty.
For women in rural Solapur, whose average per-capita monthly income varies from 5-60 USD (INR 450 to INR 5,000), spending as little as 0.5-1 USD (INR 50-100) per month may be unwelcome, resulting in them resorting to cloth as a menstrual product. For women who are unaccustomed to using innerwear, wearing a sanitary napkin may be uncomfortable, accompanied by the discomfort of rash or intertrigo due to friction between the skin and the menstrual product. In rural Solapur, where open defecation is still prevalent and where access to a private space to wash and clean up during periods is lacking for a few girls and women, we, at Mangal Pratap Stree Arogya Kendra, wonder if a cup for all menstruating people can solve a few of these issues.
For the uninitiated, a menstrual cup is a product that can be reused for up to 10 years. Before and at the end of every monthly cycle, it must be kept in boiling water for a few minutes. It is inserted into the vagina and collects menstrual blood. It needs to be removed and emptied every 6-12 hours once, based on the level of flow of the woman. It can be used throughout the flow of 3-6 days. Having used a menstrual cup for most of the last four years, (barring pregnancy and post-partum period), I can vouch for the liberating feeling this product offers. Women embrace this product wholeheartedly once the initial fear and hesitancy are overpowered. Research shows that there are no side effects of leaving the product in the vagina for up to 12 hours at a time. While other menstrual products like pads and tampons absorb the menstrual blood, resulting in odors, the cup collects the fluid, ensuring better comfort. Additionally, due its placement inside the vagina, there is no itching, rash or discomfort in the skin around the genitalia.
While multiple companies are selling menstrual cups in the Indian market, we were fortunate to get acquainted with the ‘Asan cup’ through our Founder Director Dr. Priya’s family contacts. The company sells its cup for a price of INR1800 in the Indian market but was willing to offer it to our non-profit for a much-subsidized price. Asan cup’s unique feature is the presence of a soft flexible rim that enables smooth insertion and removal, grip rings, and a removal ring. The design is engineered and tested to prevent leaks. Asan Cup’s mission to eradicate period poverty is aligned with our ideals at MPSAK and we look forward to helping them expand their social impact. For more information on Asan Cup, here is a link to their website: https://asancup.in/pages/features
Despite the digital age we live in, menstrual cups are not commonly used even by educated urban women in India. Hence, we knew that most of the rural women may not have heard of this product. For the last two months, we have now been demonstrating the use of the cup to rural women in the village Bachatgad meetings and providing a few women with free samples, so that they can test them out. Our team, who are from one of the villages nearby, have used the product and are satisfied with it.
We hope that women can see the convenience, ease, and sustainability of this product and make an informed choice in accepting it.
[1] Period Poverty – why millions of girls and women cannot afford their periods [Internet]. UN Women – Headquarters. 2024 [cited 2024 Oct 25]. Available from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2024/05/period-poverty-why-millions-of-girls-and-women-cannot-afford-their-periods
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