While menstruation is still a taboo in India, this woman based in Sundargarh is changing the whole concept in the rural regions of Odisha.
Meet Anushree Dash, who has been conducting the “Periods are Normal” campaign for over six months.
Anushree has been distributing menstrual hygiene kits, “treasure boxes“, to women from rural areas and impoverished parts of society as part of her initiative. She is running the program with the support of her parents, Dilip Kumar Dash and Bharati Mishra.
“Pandemic has given me a chance to come back to my roots and interact with the rural people. In the month of February, I came back from Banglore to my hometown. During my interaction with the people, I understood the financial crisis, especially the pressure women are going through. The situation boosted me to start an initiative to educate rural India about the periods,” Anushree said while speaking to Life Beyond Numbers.
Anushree has been a part of several NGOs and has worked on similar projects for over ten years. In February, she started ADiBha She Vision, a registered NGO, which connects with rural women weavers to uplift their earning potentials. It is a contemporary and environmentally friendly fashion brand that is reinventing Sambalpuri Ikat.
“We understood about period poverty and wanted to work towards the betterment. We create awareness among rural women by educating them. We teach them about menstrual hygiene and waste disposal. We have also started an initiative called ‘I Bleed Red‘ to normalize periods and break the stereotypes,” she said.
During her talks with the women, she was shocked to know that they were still using the cloth as their sanitary pads. The treasure kits consist of one month supply of pads, soap, and hygiene kits.
“One story was really moving for me. Sunita worked as a housemaid in Delhi had to return to her hometown after COVID-19. After her return, she had to live with ten people in a tiny house. She was ashamed to ask anyone to get her a pack of the sanitary pad, hence, she was using old bed sheets and clothes.“
She is very grateful to her parents for being there since day one. She believes that her parents led her to take such initiative as she never faced any taboo at her home and, life was easier in that sense.
“While discussing with my parents, I came across that my grandmother passed away due to cervical cancer. She also used clothes and rags as the pads. This is one of the reasons that I have taken this initiative to educate women to save them from such diseases,” Anushree said.
She is also running a ‘Green Periods with Menstrual Cup’ campaign. She slowly and steadily aims to lead the women to menstrual cups to benefit the environment and their betterment.
Also, read: Every Month, This Pad Couple Distributes Underwear And Sanitary Pads To 10,000+ Needy Children
Anushree wishes to take this initiative to other cities and rural regions as well.
“I want to reach one lakh women and change their lives. When my area is increasing to sustain, I would need more funding,” she added.
Though Anushree’s effort is self-funded and, to a certain extent, crowd-funded, she is now searching for corporate partnerships as her field of expertise expands. She’s created a Milaap campaign called “Sponsor a Girl” to carry on her initiative with some financial help.