Sanitary napkins to be provided in rural government schools in Gurugram

Machines to dispense sanitary napkins have been made available in ten schools in Sohna, Farrukhnagar and Pataudi blocks.

The district programme office will install sanitary napkin vending machines in government schools in Sohna, Farrukhnagar and Pataudi blocks of the district, in an effort to increase students’ access to sanitary products. Ten schools that fall in rural areas and have a higher number of girl students have been selected for the initiative.

Officials said that funding is being provided and teachers will ensure students have free access to sanitary napkins.(Yogesh Kumar/HT Photo)

Ritu Chowdhary, district project coordinator, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan — an overarching programme for school education extending from pre-school to class 12 — said that the 10 rural schools in the district have been provided with the facility under Swachh Bharat Mission.

“We have selected 10 schools in Sohna, Pataudi and Farrukhnagar, which have a strong strength of girl students so that maximum number of girls can benefit from the scheme. Both, all-girl schools and co-educational government schools, have been selected and funds are being allocated for the same,” Chowdhary said.

The 10 schools across the district that have been chosen are located in Pataudi, Haily Mandi, Bhora Kalan, Farrukhnagar, Karola, Bhangrola, Khandwela, Jatola, Abheypur and Kherli Lala. The installation of the machines is to start by next week, after which teachers will be directed to ensure that girls are able to access the facility freely.

When asked if the department had similar plans for government schools in the city, Chowdhary said that the focus is on schools in rural areas, since there was relatively lesser awareness on menstrual hygiene in the areas. “While the stigma around menstruation is common, it is more entrenched in rural areas, where girls also struggle to access sanitary products. We will try to expand our coverage in future, if more funds are allocated. As far as the city is concerned, workshops on menstrual hygiene were conducted in Gurugram schools last year,” she said.

While government schools in the city have not been provided with the facility by the state, some schools had received it through CSR interventions. Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 4/7, Urban Estate, is one such school where students have been using the machine since this May.