West Bengal ropes in rural women for manufacturing sanitary pads

New Delhi, Mar 5 (KNN) With a view to promote menstrual hygiene and mutilate the taboos related to monthly cycle in Purulia district, Bengal government has taken an initiative to involve women in manufacturing sanitary napkins.

An SHG in Jaipur Purulia has taken up the work of manufacturing sanitary napkin that permits women to earn money by producing sanitary napkins, All India Trinamool Congress has said.

Women in Purulia district with this project not only ended the taboos related to monthly cycle but also learnt importance of better sanitation and hygiene.

District Rural Development (DRDC) in conjunction with UNICEF, last year introduced a proposal for a sanitary napkin production centre at Purulia to provide cheap sterilized napkins and encourage women on personal hygiene.

Infrastructure requirement on one hand fulfilled by DRDC and on the other hand UNICEF offered technical support in order to push this initiative.

The DRDC fulfilled the infrastructure requirements while UNICEF offered technical support.

A pilot project was started in Jaipur in Purulia and ASHA workers have been attached in to distribute the end products.

Every month 30 women work on the 2 sterilization machines and produce about 900 sanitary napkin packets.

Apart from retailing these napkins, the centre supplies napkins for hospital, schools and SHGs.

Further plan has been made to include Kanyashree girls in the distribution list also. (KNN/YV)