Empower Women: Sanitary Solutions
Donation protected
Empowering Women and Young Girls
In the summers of 2013 and 2014, I had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork and live among Siddis (people of African descent) in Karnataka, India. Much of my time was spent with women, and young girls who live in rural hostels. Many of these young girls live in abject poverty and come from villages where child bride practices and human trafficking are prevalent. My interviews with them educated me about their concerns surrounding puberty and menstruation.
For example, some castes in India pathologize menstruation to make young women feel as if they have a disease. Further, parents or caregivers feel powerless at helping their children during this process because they themselves are not well equipped with the necessary knowledge about menstruation. The girls and women also disclosed to me that they do not have access to or cannot afford sanitary pads. They resort to using rags from old clothes, newspapers and leaves which put them at a higher risk for bacterial infections. The goal of this project is to educate young girls and women about women’s reproductive health, as well as train them to make reusable cotton sanitary pads and market the pads as a sustainable small business enterprise in rural Karnataka, India.
Young girls are absent from school for fifty or more days throughout the school year and women will miss four to five days of farm work per month because of menstrual leakage and the taboos which surround menstruation. Some Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are working with local Indian government officials to promote reusable sanitary pads, but their availability has not reached Siddi women and girls who remain at a disadvantage because of their minority status as a Scheduled Tribe. Armed with this information, I was motivated to develop a project which enabled the girls and women to gain access to resources which will help them take control of their bodies and reproductive health.
In the summer of 2014, with the generous funding from the Davis Projects for Peace through Wellesley College, I was able to start a project creating reusable sanitary pads. The project was to supply reusable sanitary pads to Siddi girls and women as well as educate and teach them about puberty and menstruation. Another component of the project was to recruit and train girls and women to learn how to sew and market the reusable pads as a sustainable small business enterprise. It brought together groups of women from different castes and tribes for a discussion about their bodies. Discussing their bodies has helped them build self-confidence as well as self-awareness, creating respect for one another and forming a network of support, which, in turn, will foster peace across castes and tribal differences.
These efforts help the girls enhance their future and financial independence while contributing to their development and that of their communities. This year I received travel funding from Wellesley College through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, but in order to expand the project, additional funding is needed. Due to their remoteness and lack of access to materials, I am reaching out to you for your support to develop and expand this project to reach more young girls and women in other villages.
Objectives for the project:
1) To empower young girls and women by providing access to reusable sanitary pads and provide information relevant to menstruation and female reproductive health.
2) To convene focus groups in three villages to identify concerns regarding women’s reproductive health as well as create a network of support for the young girls and women.
3) To train girls and women how to sew cotton sanitary pads as a sustainable business enterprise that will generate income for financial stability.
4) To introduce the newly-trained girls and women to Non-Governmental Organizations to which they can market and sell the reusable sanitary pads.
With your help, the girls can stay in school longer and the women can continue to provide for their families by remaining at work. In addition, the young girls and women will continue to empower other women by sharing their knowledge and sewing the reusable cotton sanitary pads. Funding will be used for educational materials and supplies to make the reusable pads, such as cotton fabric, polyurethane laminate fabric (PUL), thread, scissors, sewing machines, hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, and flannel. Your support makes a real difference in empowering the lives of these young girls and women in rural India.
Warm wishes and thanks for your support,
Fiona
In the summers of 2013 and 2014, I had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork and live among Siddis (people of African descent) in Karnataka, India. Much of my time was spent with women, and young girls who live in rural hostels. Many of these young girls live in abject poverty and come from villages where child bride practices and human trafficking are prevalent. My interviews with them educated me about their concerns surrounding puberty and menstruation.
For example, some castes in India pathologize menstruation to make young women feel as if they have a disease. Further, parents or caregivers feel powerless at helping their children during this process because they themselves are not well equipped with the necessary knowledge about menstruation. The girls and women also disclosed to me that they do not have access to or cannot afford sanitary pads. They resort to using rags from old clothes, newspapers and leaves which put them at a higher risk for bacterial infections. The goal of this project is to educate young girls and women about women’s reproductive health, as well as train them to make reusable cotton sanitary pads and market the pads as a sustainable small business enterprise in rural Karnataka, India.
Young girls are absent from school for fifty or more days throughout the school year and women will miss four to five days of farm work per month because of menstrual leakage and the taboos which surround menstruation. Some Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are working with local Indian government officials to promote reusable sanitary pads, but their availability has not reached Siddi women and girls who remain at a disadvantage because of their minority status as a Scheduled Tribe. Armed with this information, I was motivated to develop a project which enabled the girls and women to gain access to resources which will help them take control of their bodies and reproductive health.
In the summer of 2014, with the generous funding from the Davis Projects for Peace through Wellesley College, I was able to start a project creating reusable sanitary pads. The project was to supply reusable sanitary pads to Siddi girls and women as well as educate and teach them about puberty and menstruation. Another component of the project was to recruit and train girls and women to learn how to sew and market the reusable pads as a sustainable small business enterprise. It brought together groups of women from different castes and tribes for a discussion about their bodies. Discussing their bodies has helped them build self-confidence as well as self-awareness, creating respect for one another and forming a network of support, which, in turn, will foster peace across castes and tribal differences.
These efforts help the girls enhance their future and financial independence while contributing to their development and that of their communities. This year I received travel funding from Wellesley College through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, but in order to expand the project, additional funding is needed. Due to their remoteness and lack of access to materials, I am reaching out to you for your support to develop and expand this project to reach more young girls and women in other villages.
Objectives for the project:
1) To empower young girls and women by providing access to reusable sanitary pads and provide information relevant to menstruation and female reproductive health.
2) To convene focus groups in three villages to identify concerns regarding women’s reproductive health as well as create a network of support for the young girls and women.
3) To train girls and women how to sew cotton sanitary pads as a sustainable business enterprise that will generate income for financial stability.
4) To introduce the newly-trained girls and women to Non-Governmental Organizations to which they can market and sell the reusable sanitary pads.
With your help, the girls can stay in school longer and the women can continue to provide for their families by remaining at work. In addition, the young girls and women will continue to empower other women by sharing their knowledge and sewing the reusable cotton sanitary pads. Funding will be used for educational materials and supplies to make the reusable pads, such as cotton fabric, polyurethane laminate fabric (PUL), thread, scissors, sewing machines, hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, and flannel. Your support makes a real difference in empowering the lives of these young girls and women in rural India.
Warm wishes and thanks for your support,
Fiona
Organizer
Fiona Jamal
Organizer
Cambridge, MA
