May 28 is celebrated each year as Menstruation Hygiene Day all over the world. Since the introduction of the first mass-produced and manufactured sanitary napkins by Kotex, the importance of hygiene has been the main driving factor for the development and use of sanitary pads.
In many countries, there is a social stigma attached to the menstrual cycle and women are often secluded during this period. Women, themselves, are not comfortable performing physical chores due to their embarrassment and worries about leakage. Menstruation is one of the biggest reasons that girls miss school. Developing countries cannot offer facilities such as bathrooms and since they are unable to even wash during the day, countless school days are lost by their absence during periods. A study by USAID found that the presence of clean and safe toilets in schools can increase enrollment in schools for girls by 11%. Sanitary Napkins and Menstrual Hygiene: Interlinking Issues Often, young women lack the knowledge or do not have access to resources to overcome their monthly incontinence. A study on the knowledge and beliefs regarding menstruation among Saudi nursing students, published in the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, states that majority of the girls in Saudi Arabia lack scientific knowledge about menstruation. In addition, 83% of the participants believed that the blood of menstruation was dirty and 54.7% of the participants trusted on the benefits about some kind of food omission during menstruation and puberty. However, the focus of modern science on this basic requirement of women's health has led to certain improvements in the materials used in the manufacture of sanitary napkins and their safety during use. Pads score over other methods of vaginal hygiene, such as menstrual cups and tampons, due to their ease of use and safety. It is not recommended to use a tampon for more than 8 hours at a stretch, since it is located inside the body and can cause problems due to the accumulation of discharge and an increase in toxicity levels in the human body. There is also a grassroots movement that has been termed “Female Sanitary Revolution” and looks at educating and making available low-cost pads that can be distributed in rural areas to improve female menstrual hygiene and positively impact women's health. Even in the urban context, the onset of periods leads to women considering the option of taking a few days off work or school. The fact is that women are increasingly involved in every sector of industry and are stepping out of traditional stereotypes and taking on tasks and jobs that were earlier reserved for only men. This is made possible, in no small way, by the easy availability of sanitary napkins. Disposable products are easy to use and their presence has directly led to an increase in the freedom available to women.
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September 2016
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