In India, almost 23 million girls drop out of school each year once they start their period. (BBC 2020).

In this episode we speak to Sanjay Gupta, Founding Director of CHETNA in India. Sanjay talks us through the everyday challenges faced by girls living in the slum communities in Delhi when it comes to managing their period. Where there is a lack of clean toilets and privacy, poor access to running water, plus stigma and taboos to be tackled, CHETNA has been actively taking on the challenge of what girls on the street have asked them for support with – period poverty. CHETNA has been engaging with local girls and their families to provide them with not just sanitary products, but an open forum to discuss and learn more about periods, good hygiene and looking after themselves, and combatting the stigma that exists around the sensitive subject of periods.

📖 Around the world, girls are missing 10-20% of school days because of their period (World Bank).

Ritu’s period came, there was no hope of buying sanitary pads – her mother had even scolded her for trying to buy them instead of rations. So, Ritu was forced to use old clothes. She says, “sometimes, we didn’t even have sufficient cotton cloths, so we had to use synthetic clothes instead which cause a lot of rashes. Even in these situations, I had to go to work.”

Get the full story from the streets here.

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