Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan pitches in for menstrual hygiene

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan urged the government to ensure toilets are provided to school-going girls. She urged women to talk about menstrual hygiene without any shame.

Talking about menstrual hygiene is a rather hush-hush affair in India. But actor Kareena Kapoor Khan did not mince any words on the subject while attending an event called ‘Celebrating Menstrual Hygiene for all Girls, for all Women’ in Lucknow on Saturday. The event was organised by Unicef, Hindustan Times and Hindustan in cooperation with National Health Mission (NHM).

“I have a 30 days schedule in a month. We do not stop working but use the right products, keep healthy and clean. Why should others, especially girls, be termed dirty or compelled to miss school?” asked Kareena.

“Do not keep complexities in mind. Ask the government to provide products as this is not a matter of shame. We should feel proud being girls,” she said. She also appealed to men, asking them to be supportive of women during their menstrual cycle, as they go through a lot of pain and sometimes mood swings.

Read: Menstrual hygiene day | 8 natural ways to relieve period pain, stress

Kareena Kapoor Khan with MP Dimple Yadav during the event.

Read: Women not sick, impure or untouchable during periods, say activists in MP

Member of Parliament Dimple Yadav, who has been spearheading the mission Poshan and various other schemes for the girl child in Uttar Pradesh, also made a candid confession from the dais. “We do not talk to girls about menstruation before it happens to them. I must say I also did not speak about it,” she said.

“Because we don’t talk, girls are left crying and in pain,” she added.

On the occasion, a special document ‘UP Menstrual Hygiene and Adolescent Empowerment’ was also released which is essentially a roadmap to provide sanitary napkins to girls and raise awareness about menstrual hygiene in the state. Statistics say 87% girls still use old cloth as absorbent while menstruating.