Jaipur, Jan 3: From July 2019, around 2.8 lakh girls studying in government colleges in Rajasthan are all set to get free sanitary pads as part of the state government’s new menstrual hygiene campaign.
An amount of Rs 76 crore has already been allotted in February last year by the then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for the scheme.
Nearly 2.8 lakh girls studying in 189 govt colleges are likely to benefit from the scheme
Under the scheme, the government will distribute sanitary pads free of cost to all women between the age group of 15 and 45 across schools, colleges, health centres and Anganwadis. Nearly 2.8 lakh girl students studying in 189 state government colleges are likely to benefit from the scheme, officials said.
Rajasthan will become the first state in India to provide free sanitary napkins to college students
Under the campaign, the state department of higher education will install sanitary napkin vending machines in all the colleges from the next academic session. With the implementation of the scheme, Rajasthan will become the first state in India to provide free sanitary napkins to college students, Congress Spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed said.
According to experts, unavailability of sanitary pads forces many girl students to drop out early from schools. This scheme will reduce dropout rate of girl students and ensure menstrual hygiene, they said.
Govt planning to collaborate with educational institutes to develop low-cost sanitary pads
To make the campaign successful, the state government is collaborating with many self-help groups, NGOs and other ministries. It is also contemplating up to collaborate with various educational institutes for research and development of low-cost sanitary pads.
Commenting on the initiative, Amar Tulsiyan, Founder of Niine Sanitary Napkins, said, “We live in a country where 71% of girls have no knowledge of menstruation before their first period and 82% of women resort to using unhygienic alternative methods. We are extremely happy with the decision of the Rajasthan government and we believe they have set a benchmark for other states to follow in 2019. Bold steps such as this tackles the taboos associated with meditation and encourages the girls of India to use sanitary pads as for many poor and low-income families, sanitary pads are still out of reach.”