In the crowded lanes of urban slums, where families live in cramped rooms and daily survival is a struggle, menstrual health is often the last priority. Amid rising rent, food insecurity, and job uncertainty, there’s a silent crisis that affects millions of women and girls every month—Period Poverty.
At the Nitish Sahay Foundation, we’ve worked in communities like Yamuna Khadar, where the challenges of menstruation are not only physical but deeply social, emotional, and economic. And we’ve learned one powerful truth: dignity should never be a luxury.
What Is Period Poverty?
Period poverty refers to the lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education, toilets, handwashing facilities, and proper waste management. It also includes the shame, stigma, and cultural taboos that prevent open conversation around menstruation.
In urban slums, this crisis is amplified:
- Sanitary pads are unaffordable for many families.
- Toilets are shared, often unhygienic or unsafe for girls.
- Cultural silence keeps girls uninformed about periods until they experience one—often in fear and isolation.
- Improvised methods like dirty rags or newspaper increase risks of infection.
- Many girls miss school during their periods, and some eventually drop out altogether.
The Human Cost
We’ve met young girls who hide their stained clothes out of shame, women who stay indoors for five days every month, and mothers who feel helpless watching their daughters suffer without access to even basic pads.
This isn’t just a hygiene issue—it’s a health, education, and gender equality issue. When a girl can’t manage her period safely, she loses confidence, opportunities, and her sense of dignity.
Our Work: Breaking the Silence, One Pad at a Time
Through our Pad The Way campaign, the Nitish Sahay Foundation is:
- Distributing free sanitary pads to girls and women in slums.
- Organizing awareness sessions that teach menstrual hygiene in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
- Training local women as peer educators, so the movement grows within the community.
- Involving boys and men to challenge the culture of shame and silence.
- Promoting eco-friendly disposal and sustainable practices.
The Path Forward
Ending period poverty in urban slums begins with three things: Access, Awareness, and Acceptance. A sanitary pad is not just a product—it’s a right. A right to health. A right to education. A right to dignity.
At the Nitish Sahay Foundation, we won’t stop until no girl misses school because of her period, no woman suffers in silence, and menstruation is treated not as a shameful secret, but as a shared truth.
#PadTheWay #PeriodPoverty #MenstrualHealthMatters #NitishSahayFoundation #DignityForAll
