The Shuchi Scheme is suspended for the past few years due to pandemic and financial constraints.
The Shuchi Scheme, which provides free sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in government schools of Karnataka, misses the October deadline set by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dinesh Gundu Rao. The scheme, started in 2014, was suspended from 2019 due to the pandemic and financial constraints.
Sowmya, the head mistress of Thagachaguppe Government High School said, “We are not getting any sanitary napkins since the past four years. The students are buying it on their own. We have contacted the health department but they said sanitary napkins were out of stock.”
Poornima, the head mistress of Kumbalgudu Government High School said, “I am working here since March 2022 and I know that we have not received any sanitary napkins since then. We have called the Kumbalgudu Primary Health Centre (PHC), however they said that they don’t have any supply of sanitary napkins.” She added, “Most of the students here are poor. But they buy sanitary napkins on their own as it is a basic necessity.”
Shoba Joshi, a teacher from K. Gollahalli Government High School said, “We have not received any sanitary napkins after the pandemic. For most girls here, it is not affordable to buy a packet of sanitary napkin. But the parents are managing it somehow.” She added, “We have some students from Sneha Jyothi Ashrama studying here. The Ashrama provides sanitary napkins to those students.”
A class 8 student of the K. Gollahalli Government High School said, “Buying sanitary napkins every month is not affordable for my family. I have an elder sister too. It is difficult.” Her father is a bus conductor and mother a homemaker.
However, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) provides sanitary napkins to schools under it. The head master of BBMP Boys and Girls High School, Murphy town, Halasuru, said that they receive sanitary napkins from BBMP which are given to students who ask for it.
An official from the Health and Family Welfare Department said, “The tender for the scheme is almost finalised. It will be restarted within a month or two.”
After the launch of Shuchi Nanna Maithri project which provides free menstrual cups to pre-university students in government and government-aided colleges, the minister announced that the tender for the Shuchi scheme is in the final stage and is expected to cost Rs. 20 crores. He added that the scheme will benefit about 40 lakh girl students in the state.
Shrishti Jain, menstrual health educator and school psychologist at The International School Bangalore (TISB) said that a lack of menstrual hygiene can cause health risks in girls and have psychological and emotional impact on them. It can also affect their school performance and social participation and might even lead to school dropout and early marriage, she said. “Girls who cannot afford menstrual hygiene products like sanitary napkins may turn to unsanitary substitutes like rags or leaves, which can have negative health effects,” she added.
Bharti Kannan, a social entrepreneur in menstrual health said that the government should ensure a steady supply of menstrual health products for girls. She added that a lack of menstrual hygiene will have deep psychological and physiological effects on adolescents ranging from the way they view their bodies to reproductive tract infections.
