Kashmir to start sale of sanitary napkins in rural areas

The Jammu and Kashmir government is mulling to rope in female teachers, panches and sarpanches to sell low-cost rupee one sanitary napkin in conservative Kashmir's rural areas with around five lakh stock pending unsold. Peerzada Ashiq reports.

The Jammu and Kashmir government is mulling to rope in female teachers, panches and sarpanches to sell low-cost rupee one sanitary napkin in conservative Kashmir's rural areas with around five lakh stock pending unsold.

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The implementation of a National Health Rural Mission scheme ASHA to provide sanitary napkins to adolescent seems to have few takers in the conservative valley. The issue came up during state health minister Sham Lal Sharma's meeting in north Kashmir's Bandipora district on Thursday. Out of around four lakh stock of napkins in three north Kashmir districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora only around one lakh has been sold since last year.

"The scheme is likely to get a boost after reopening of the schools. The teachers of girl schools and female Panchs should also be actively involved, so that the distribution of napkins is monitored," said deputy commissioner Bandipora Manzoor Ahmad Lone.

Under the scheme, adolescent girls in the age group of 10 to 19 years can buy a pack for Rs 6.

"The scheme has been initiated in 10 districts of the state to increase awareness in adolescent girls about hygiene and to increase accessibility of high quality sanitary napkins at affordable cost, especially for girls of rural areas," said health officer.