International Menstrual Hygiene Day

Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS), Chennai, Celebrates International Menstrual Hygiene Day
Menstruation is the most important aspect to reproductive health for a woman. But in many parts of the world it is still considered a taboo topic. This continued reluctance to openly talk about menstruation, not only denies awareness about menstrual health and hygiene among girls and women, but also leads to an improper disposal of sanitary pads and tampons which contain harmful chemicals and plastic. Now, the environmental damage caused by these 'single-use' menstrual products has become a global topic of heightened concern.The Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28, 2019), is a global platform for government agencies, non-profit organizations, private sector agencies, the media and individuals to come together to raise the voices for promotion of menstrual hygiene and its management.

In the run-up to International Menstrual Hygiene DayHindustan Institute of Technology and Scienceendeavouredto teach women and girls to adopt a plastic-free period for their own health and safety as well as the revival of our only home – planet Earth. #It’s Time forAction.The students of the department of Fashion, Design, and Arts will contribute to the awareness by stitching cloth pads out of organic cotton fabric which will be distributed to 100 girls and women of Kayar village in Kancheepuram, one of the villages adopted by Hindustan.

Tmt. RekhaRangarajan, Director Data Patterns, distributed the Cloth Pad Kits comprising two stitched cloth pads and some extra material to make one more to the villagers. A training session demonstrating the making of cloth pads was also conducted for the women and girls to practice cloth pad making, which will immensely benefit them to be self-sufficient in the future.

Besides workshop,an awareness program was organized to create awareness on the importance of menstrual hygiene, the effect of societal taboos on health and environment and the availability of sustainable menstrual products.This suffices one of the major goals of menstrual hygiene day which focuses on attaining sustainable development – “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”.

Earlier, the department has also been advocating awareness initiatives on sustainable menstrual practices by participating in the "Environmenstrual Week of Action" during October 2018 and has also contributed 250 cloth pads to school girls affected by the Gaja Cyclone in January 2019.