Why 2.3 crore schoolgirls stop answering the roll call every year

 #KeepGirlsInSchool will help empower 90 lakh young girls to stay in school so they can continue chasing their dreams

Think about school and the one thing that instantly comes to mind is answering the roll call. That your name is in a school attendance register makes you feel like you’re part of something larger. Roll call time may seem like a routine exercise that marks the beginning of a typical school day, but it is in fact a symbol of hope and optimism. Behind every ‘Present’ that you hear during the daily attendance is a student who is eager to learn new things and build a bright future. That explains why children are always so excited during roll call time.

12-year-old Akanksha (named changed on request) from Mumbai says, “I love attending school. I look forward to roll call time every day as it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Every attendance session is a reminder of the many wonders of education and knowledge.”

While this is Akanksha’s happy story, crores of other school-going girls across India are not as fortunate.

Every year, nearly 2.3 crore girls abruptly stop answering the roll call. Their education comes to a sudden halt.

Their dreams are cut short and they are unable to realise their full potential. That’s because, on an annual basis, 2.3 crore girls are compelled to leave school at the onset of puberty due to lack of period education and protection.

In India, periods are still a taboo topic. Studies show that as many as 71 percent adolescent girls know nothing about periods till they experience it themselves. They are unaware of good hygiene practices to manage periods. This severely impacts their confidence and self-esteem, forcing 2.3 crore girls to permanently stop attending school every single year.

Whisper is at the forefront of changing this grim story with its #KeepGirlsInSchool campaign.

Every year, 2.3 crore girls are compelled to leave school at the onset of puberty due to lack of period education and protection.(Photo: iStock)

#KeepGirlsInSchool

We just saw how lack of period education and protection makes it impossible for several young girls to complete their education. This is where #KeepGirlsInSchool makes all the difference.

The objective of the campaign is to ensure that periods don’t get in the way of young girls achieving their dreams.

Commenting on the importance of period education, Poonam Sharma, principal of Sharda Sarvhitkari Model Sr Secondary School, Chandigarh, says, “When young girls who don’t know anything about menstruation, get their first periods, they panic or start crying. To avoid this, it’s essential to impart period education. It’s important to tell them that periods are normal and not something to be ashamed or afraid of. More importantly, they should know that periods are certainly not something you should be missing school for.”

#KeepGirlsInSchool is now in its second edition. Whisper has partnered with UNESCO to integrate period education as a module in school curriculum. Before we tell you more, watch this video.

The film shows you how something as natural as periods are stopping young girls from completing their education, thus depriving them of a promising future.

It’s only when girls stay in school will they be able to forge ahead in life and realise their dreams. That’s exactly what Whisper and UNESCO are doing with #KeepGirlsInSchool.

By educating young girls about periods and providing them with menstrual hygiene products, they’re empowering them to fulfill their dreams.

Lauding Whisper on their campaign, Poonam says, “Whisper is doing a wonderful job and we are thankful to them. 

Whisper visits schools, screens documentaries and equips girls with education and products to manage their periods. Often, even mothers hesitate when it comes to talking to their daughters about periods. When Whisper conducts such workshops in schools, the children go home and tell their mothers about it. This, in turn, inspires mothers to have an open conversation about periods with their daughters.”

Poonam has first-hand witnessed the impact of Whisper’s initiatives in her own school. She says that after the brand conducted workshops in her school there was a noticeable change in the behaviour of her students. They felt confident enough to speak about their own period experiences. Talking about Whisper’s Mother Daughter Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Program, Poonam says that the initiative has been instrumental in empowering and equipping young girls in managing their periods.

Ushering change, one girl at a time

What Whisper is doing is impacting the lives of crores of young girls across India and the numbers speak for themselves. So far, 4 crore girls have learnt about periods and how to manage them, thanks to the brand’s Mother Daughter Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Program. Going ahead too, Whisper has pledged to provide period education and protection to another 2.5 crore girls.

#KeepGirlsInSchool will help empower 90 lakh young girls to stay in school so they can continue chasing their dreams. The campaign has already generated awareness among 5.5 crore people. That’s not all. Whisper’s joint initiative with UNESCO aimed at including period education as part of the academic curriculum has seen support from 10 lakh people across the country.

In a country such as India where a culture of silence surrounds the topic of periods, #KeepGirlsInSchool is ushering change, one young girl at a time. The campaign plays a key role in ensuring that no girl suddenly stops answering the roll call. Instead, she will continue to stay in school and go on to make her dreams a reality.

(Source: The Quint)

Free period products to be available in schools and colleges in England

State scheme starts from Monday as part of government bid to tackle ‘period poverty’

Tampons, sanitary pads and other period products will be made freely available to all state schools and colleges in England starting next week, with the launch of a scheme funded by the Department for Education.

The DfE scheme follows the government’s commitment last year to pay for sanitary products for primary and secondary schools, in an effort to tackle “period poverty”, which can cause girls from low-income families to miss school.

“We know that it is not easy for everyone to access period products where and when they need them. This scheme will deal with those problems so young people can go about their daily lives without getting caught out,” said Michelle Donelan, the children and families minister.

The scheme will apply to 20,000 primary and secondary schools, and colleges. Photograph: lovethephoto/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

The DfE said the scheme was designed “to give pupils easy access to period products at school or college” as well as breaking down stigmas and raising awareness around menstruation.

Amika George, the founder of Free Periods who began campaigning to end period poverty in 2017, said: “We ask that schools have open conversations with students about what they need and start signing up to the scheme – no child must miss out.

“Free products in schools will ensure that every child can learn and be their very best, without periods holding them back.”

A recent survey found that 42% of 14- to 21-year-olds in the UK said they had used makeshift sanitary protection, with some saying they had used socks, other fabric or paper as emergency replacements.

Rosamund McNeil, the assistant general secretary of the National Education Union, said more than 137,000 pupils missed school in 2018 because of their period. “No girl in the UK should miss out on education because they can’t afford these essential products,” McNeil said.

The scheme is to cost up to £20m this year for an estimated 1.7 million students. From Monday, staff will be able to order products from a commercial supplier, PHS group, awarded the contract by the DfE after a tender last year.

The range available to more than 20,000 schools and colleges includes environmentally friendly pads and reusable products, the company said.

The government initially pledged to provide sanitary products to all state secondary schools and colleges in last year’s spring statement. But the coverage was extended after campaigners pointed out menstruation began for many girls during their time at primary school.

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, applauded the government’s effort to extend provision to all schools.

“We’d urge the government to monitor the new scheme closely, so that if take-up numbers are low initially, then more can be done to advertise the service and to guarantee that every pupil can access a period product that meets their needs,” Whiteman said.

The scheme in England follows a groundbreaking 2018 decision by the Scottish government to fund free menstrual products to young people in schools, colleges and universities across Scotland, after a survey found that one in four struggled to obtain tampons or pads.

The Welsh government followed last year, offering free products to all state schools and colleges. NHS England also announced that women and girls in hospital would receive free sanitary products on request.

(Source: The Guardian)

'I spotted a lump when preparing for my ritual bath'

In the Orthodox Jewish community, there is a sacred space for women: the mikveh. Now it has also become a place where they can spot signs of breast cancer and domestic violence, and guide one another towards help.

It is a religious requirement for all married Orthodox women to go to the mikveh, or ritual bath, at night seven days after their period has finished. It is a way to spiritually purify themselves. While some women in the Jewish community might take issue with the need to "purify" themselves for their husbands, it has great emotional significance for many others.

HEIDI LEVINE

A woman will traditionally go to the mikveh for the first time just before her wedding and will continue to go every month until she stops menstruating.

Before stepping into the mikveh, a woman will first spend time cleaning her body thoroughly and making sure that there are no external objects on her which would form any kind of barrier between her and the mikveh water - an example of this might be a bit of leftover nail varnish, or fluff from a towel. She will step into a private room where she can bathe, shampoo, comb her hair, clean under her nails and examine her body carefully.

Once she is ready, she will go to the mikveh, where she needs to fully immerse her body, including each hair on her head. She will usually immerse herself completely three times and say a blessing.

A mikveh typically resembles a private miniature swimming pool which is filled with "living" natural water, usually rainwater. There will often be one attendant present to guide the woman, but women in Israel have recently won the right to immerse themselves alone, which some prefer. There will, however, be attendants in the building if a woman wishes to speak with them or seek their guidance.

A Jewish woman enters the water of a mikveh in Jerusalem - it is a religious requirement for all married Orthodox women to go to the ritual bath, at night, seven days after their period has finished

In Israel, where around 750,000 women go to the mikveh each month, charities are taking the initiative to train the attendants who work there to look out for signs of cancer or domestic violence so they can sensitively direct women to find help.

They are also encouraging mikvehs to put up posters for breast cancer awareness, as well as domestic violence, so that they can take steps to help themselves.

Dr Naomi Marmon Grumet is the founder of the Eden Center in Jerusalem, a charity which has so far trained about 800 mikveh attendants, working in about 150 mikvehs, who go to talks on breast cancer with medical professionals. The mikveh attendants take part in role-playing exercises to plan how they could delicately suggest that women seek help, and they are also given numbers they can pass on for doctors.

Dr Naomi Marmon Grumet is the founder of the Eden Center in Jerusalem, a charity which trains mikveh attendants to be aware of breast cancer

She explains that mikveh attendants will avert their eyes when a woman steps in to immerse herself, but they might still see something such as a bruise or an unusual lump.

They might also notice that one of the women is reluctant to leave the mikveh building after the bath, as this means returning to her husband, which might be a sign that she is being abused. In the Orthodox community, marital relations will only resume once a woman has been to the mikveh, seven days after the end of her period.

Dr Marmon Grumet did her doctorate about how Jewish women observe laws about ritual purity, which is when she started speaking to women about their experiences at the mikveh.

One of them was a woman with 10 children whose husband was abusive.

"She told me that the only woman who really knew about it was the mikveh attendant, because, she told me, 'She sees my body, she sees my bruises.'

"A light went on in my head and I realised that there are people in our community who see a lot of things, and if they only knew how to reach out and help women, then they could really be an amazing resource. They could be first responders and not just see women, but also offer some kind of help or support."

For Marmon Grumet, the support could simply involve showing women that they care.

"I don't expect mikveh attendants to be therapists, but to be able to say to women 'There's a hotline that you can call and they'll support you' - or just to say 'I care, and I'm here for you - you don't deserve this'."

A Balanit, or mikveh attendant, holds a towel for a Jewish woman who entered the water of a mikveh in Jerusalem

In other scenarios, women might actually ask the attendant for their advice.

Marmon Grumet gives the example of a woman who told the attendant that her breast was bleeding sometimes, although she thought it might have been because of her new bra. The attendant told her that she needed to get it checked and gave her the name of a doctor.

The woman came back to thank her. "I would have just written it off, but it was stage one cancer," she said.

"We certainly don't want attendants offering unwanted comments about women's bodies. However, sometimes a woman will say, 'Does this look okay?'

No-one understands the importance of checking your breasts at the mikveh more than Shani Taragin, 45, a Jewish law teacher in Jerusalem.

"I thank God that I am here today," says Shani Taragin, who noticed a lump in her breast as she was preparing to immerse herself at the mikveh

Taragin noticed that she had a lump in her breast five years ago, as she was preparing to immerse herself. She was teaching at a summer camp and so she was using the natural waters of a nearby lake for her mikveh.

It was very dark, and so at the time she examined herself much more carefully to see if there were any foreign objects on her body, such as a smudge of sun cream. Taragin had always quickly checked her breasts when preparing for a mikveh, but this time she was more thorough.

"I felt a lump in the upper left-hand corner of my breast and I kept on pressing it. It really felt like an external object. I kept on pushing and pushing it down and then I realised that it was internal, so I could go ahead and immerse myself in the mikveh.

Even as I immersed, all I could think about was, 'What is this lump?'"

Taragin knew that something wasn't right, and she booked an appointment with a specialist as quickly as she could, who found that it was breast cancer.

At this point, Taragin had already been working with the Eden Center, teaching Jewish law to mikveh attendants, but she decided that she would incorporate breast cancer awareness into her courses.

"My story shows that you can really use the mikveh as a basis for teaching breast cancer awareness," she says.

Shani Taragin during a class at the Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies in Raanana

It's a very important project - Ashkenazi Jewish women, Jews of central or Eastern European descent, have a high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. This is because one in 40 Ashkenazi Jews will carry a BRCA gene mutation, more than 10 times the rate of the general population. Recent studies show that Sephardi Jews, of Portuguese or Spanish descent, may also be genetically predisposed to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

"It's almost like the halacha (Jewish law) is telling you to be sensitive to your body," Taragin says.

It is also a woman's time to be in touch with her physical state. "You are examining yourself anyway, so it's an amazing opportunity to check yourself."

In terms of mikveh attendants spotting signs of cancer, Taragin recommends that they are as delicate as possible.

"There are ways of saying things so you are not invading a woman's privacy," she says.

She has this philosophy for domestic violence as well. The Eden Center is also advocating for mikvehs to put up posters with hotline numbers. There is a growing problem with domestic violence in Israel, with 20 women killed in 2018, according to data collected by the women's charity WIZO.

The Eden Center is also offering training for its mikveh attendants to be much more sensitive in terms of making sure that women who have cancer, or who have had cancer, have a positive experience when they are at the mikveh. This training would include, for example, that a mikveh attendant does not stare at a woman who might have had a mastectomy or treat her in any way which might make her feel uncomfortable.

A poster for breast cancer awareness inside the changing room of a mikveh in Jerusalem

There is also now a scheme in England to give information and advice for mikveh attendants, to help them be sensitive to the needs of women who have received a diagnosis and also inform them so that they can act as a resource within the community. Chai Cancer Care, the Jewish community's cancer support charity, have developed booklets for mikveh attendants.

The scheme has been launched in London and Manchester by Michal Mocton, 41, who had breast cancer six years ago.

Mocton was inspired to set up the training after her own experiences of going to the mikveh when she was diagnosed.

She says that mikveh attendants are only checking to see if women have immersed themselves, but some women will feel especially self-conscious.

"It's important for attendants to remember that she might not have shown anyone her scars, and then she is under bright light, having to scrutinise her body and then feeling like someone else might be looking at her when she steps into the mikveh."

She recommends that mikveh attendants should take their cues from the woman herself - they should not stare, and act with heightened sensitivity.

The booklet makes attendants aware that increasing numbers of women are having elective mastectomies if they have the BRCA gene, and recommends that these women should feel welcome and cared for.

"Going to the mikveh is the height of spirituality, but it can be very hard for women who have received a diagnosis," says Louise Hager, the chair of Chai Cancer Care.

"It's a privilege to be a mikveh attendant and to help women fulfil this mitzvah (religious obligation). The more we can do to prepare them, the better.

"We are entering an age where women are more open to talking about cancer. We need to empower the mikveh attendants to have that information and feel they can pass it on".

Mocton went to the mikveh for the last time at 37 when she had her ovaries removed, as this meant that she would no longer be menstruating. She wants attendants to be aware that some of the women might be going to the mikveh for the last time, and it's important that they help make her experience meaningful.

She asks attendants to remember that the "mitzvah of mikveh has connected women for generations", which is why it's so important that every single woman who goes there feels welcome and connected to her heritage.

p.s. All photos courtesy of HEIDI LEVINE

(Source: BBC)

Egyptian company becomes first in country to grant women a day's leave for their period

‘At first, employees were shocked and shy as it is not normal to talk freely about this issue here in the Middle East and North Africa region,’ says the company’s head of human resources

An Egyptian company has become the first in the country to give women one day of paid leave each month for their period.

Campaigners in the UK welcomed the move and called for the government to introduce a similar measure here.

Female employees at Shark and Shrimp, a digital marketing agency based in Cairo, will not need to provide medical proof of having particularly painful periods.

“It is an option for all women employees to choose which day of their period will be taken off," Rania Youssef, the company's head of human resources, told The Independent.

“We trust our employees 100 per cent and we know they will not misuse this decision. At first, employees were shocked and shy as it is not normal to talk freely about the issue here in the Middle East and North Africa region.

“But after understanding the policy gives all women the confidentiality to keep her menstrual days secret with our female HR representative, they were very happy Shark and Shrimp is not only dealing with their work performance but also with their humanity.”

Female employees at a digital marketing agency based in the Egyptian capital of Cairo will not need to provide medical proof of having particularly painful periods ( iStock / martin-dm )

The firm’s CEO Mohamed Naiem decided to introduce the policy after reading medical articles about period pains and noticing many women organisations were calling for paid holiday time when they are menstruating, the spokesperson said.

Some Egyptians mocked the notion of menstrual leave – with the firm facing "a lot of offensive and sarcastic comments" – but others hailed the company’s decision. The move comes after a recent proposal by Egyptian female journalists who campaigned for women in the country to be granted menstrual leave.

Menstrual leave is recognised in countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Zambia. Some private Indian companies have also launched such policies.

In South Korea, women can be entitled to additional pay if they do not use the menstrual leave to which they are eligible for.

In 2015, Zambia became the first African country to enshrine a woman's right to menstrual leave in the law, giving them one day off a month when they are menstruating.

The country's labour law, which allows female workers to take off one day a month, is known as Mother's Day despite the fact it applies to all women regardless of whether they have children.

Japan has offered menstrual leave policies since 1947, when a law was passed permitting any woman with painful periods, or whose job might intensify period pain, to take time off work.

South Korea granted women menstrual leave in 2001 but the policy has since been criticised by men who perceive it to be a type of reverse discrimination.

Italy attempted to bring in similar legislation – which would have made it the first Western country with an official “menstrual leave” policy for working women – last year but it failed to pass.

Amika George, a 19-year-old student who founded the Free Periods campaign, urged the UK to introduce menstrual leave.

She said: “It would be great. The more the government can do, to acknowledge what women have to go through every month, the better. These other countries are paving the way forward.

"Menstrual leave would help to equal the playing field in terms of the opportunities which men and women are presented with at work. Women have a lot of setbacks and periods can be something which stand in their way of participating in the workplace.

“We live in a society where periods are seen as shameful and embarrassing – discussing them in the workplace helps to break taboos. There is nothing for women to feel embarrassed or ashamed about.”

The campaigner argued it was “slightly unrealistic” to think a similar measure could be introduced in the UK but added that perhaps “one day” such a policy could be implemented.

(Source: Independent)

Period pain is officially as bad as a heart attack - so why have doctors ignored it?

The answer is simple. Men wait an average of 49 minutes before being treated for abdominal pain. For women, the wait is 65 minutes for the same symptoms. It’s thought that this is because women are seen as exaggerating pain and being ‘dramatic’ due to sexist stereotypes, writes Siobhan Fenton in Independent. Read on: 

John Guillebaud, professor of reproductive health at University College London, revealed this week that research shows period pain can be as “bad as having a heart attack”. He said: “Men don’t get it and it hasn’t been given the centrality it should have. I do believe it’s something that should be taken care of, like anything else in medicine.”

Dr Imogen Shaw, a GP specialising in women’s healthcare, welcomed his comments, saying: “I wouldn’t say [period pain] has been hugely investigated,” and when asked if the issue would be taken more seriously if men experienced it, said: “I suspect there would be, being very cynical.”

It is extraordinary how little the medical profession engages with menstruation. Although recent years have seen period taboos broken through social media campaigns, this has yet to permeate medical discourse - and periods are seldom given serious medical consideration in research. Scant research has been conducted on specific pain prevention or pain relief and devices such as tampons, moon-cups and sanitary towels remain rudimentary.

It’s not only women’s period pain which is taken less seriously, either – ignoring women’s pain is a concerning practice across medicine. Recent research has shown that women’s pain is taken much less seriously by doctors generally.

Traditionally men's problems have been prioritised over women's

Men wait an average of 49 minutes before being treated for abdominal pain. For women, the wait is 65 minutes for the same symptoms. It’s thought that this is because women are seen as exaggerating pain and being ‘dramatic’ due to sexist stereotypes, while men are listened to and believed when they express the same pain and symptoms.

Indeed, the word ‘hysterical’, itself stems from hystericus, meaning ‘of the womb’, indelibly linking how society has linked wombs with overreaction, incredibility and instability.

The great historians of the world have been mostly silent on the issue of menstruation. Period pain has long been restricted to whispered exchanges between mothers, daughters, sisters and female friends, rather than worthy of polite conversation, never mind the annals of history or intellectual debate.

However, menstrual blood occasionally seeps through history's pages, and its rare appearances reveal something telling.

For Aristotle, period blood was the elixir of life which mingled with sperm to produce babies, making it at once an unnatural horror and the natural proof of woman's innate inferiority, leading him to conclude, "we should look upon the female state as being as it were a deformity, though one which occurs in the ordinary course of nature."

The Old Testament offers a similar mixture of sanctimonious horror and boyish fascination at the gore of menstruation in a flamboyant Leviticus passage which advocates that menstruating women be excluded from society for seven days, until "on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles or young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her

In the eighteenth century, fads for astronomy brought a new element to medical discussions on menstruation. As one of King George II's physicians, Richard Mead, pronounced: "Everyone knows how great a share the moon has in forwarding those evacuations of the female sex."

Since these men’s pronouncements, basic research has established the link between monthly blood and the shedding of the lining of the womb. But beyond this, precious little engagement with menstruation has entered medical discourse.

Despite affecting women and trans men around the world for days every month, the pain involved in menstruation is seldom questioned nor are serious attempts to alleviate it mentioned. This is largely because menstruation is presented as ‘Woman's Troubles’, and framed as a natural pain innate to women; almost a holy, mystical suffering like childbirth.

It’s as if to ask for relief is to be less of a woman, or to give up the pretence of women being silent, stoic receptacles of reproduction. To demand medical discourse, aid or intervention in the form of pain relief would be giving up the deeply gendered game of keeping quiet, pursing your lips and simply hugging the hot water bottle tighter against your abdomen.

While it’s a relief that Aristotle and the Old Testament’s pronouncements on periods are no longer considered the height of knowledge on the issue, the medical profession’s engagement with menstruation still leaves a lot to be desired.

Menstruation may no longer be the taboo that it once was, but it’s still not considered a respectable enough issue to warrant serious scientific consideration. Women will suffer because of this, every month, until it is.