Burdwan,5th August,2022: International Management Institute (IMI) Kolkata has organized a campaign which came up with an awareness program on “Stay-Free: Celebration of Freedom, Period!” by ensuring the distribution of sanitary kits and the installation of sanitary napkin vending machines in Claret School, and Radhakantapur High School in the rural district of Purba Bardhaman. The main motto behind this campaign is to distribute sanitary kits and implement napkin vending machines in schools in rural areas with lesser access to menstrual hygiene amenities. This campaign took place at Claret School for a sanitary napkin vending machine supplied with 100 napkins and at Radhakantapur High School where IMI Kolkata will be supplying sanitary napkins for 3 months. The machines installed by this instituteis for used of students by depositing a token amount, which will help inculcate a sense of responsible usage. A renowned doctor by profession, Dr. Ajoy Ghosh along with his team also addressed these young students to create awareness on menstrual hygiene. This campaign took place on 5th August, 2022 in the esteemed presence of Dr. Gobinda Roy, Assistant Professor, Marketing, Chairperson-Social Media, Branding & Website Committee, IMI Kolkata, Father Peter Johnson, Principal, Claret School, Father Philip Dayanand, Vice Principal, Claret School and Mr. Asit Ranjan Adhikari, Teacher in Charge, Radhakantapur High School, Sahanagar.
This initiative is taken by IMI to create awareness among rural people on the necessity and safety of sanitary pads. The session by a medical practitioner will not only help students in being more informed, but also reduce the taboo around the subject. It not only gives young students access to sanitary pads who would otherwise consciously buy pads from the market but also sends the girls a positive message that the school is sensitive to their needs. Girls from rural area are not aware and prepared for menstruation so they face many difficulties and due to lack of awareness they may also face many problems such as infections which can result in future infertility and birth complications.
Addressing the media Dr. Gobinda Roy, Assistant Professor, Marketing, Chairperson-Social Media, Branding & Website Committee of IMI Kolkata mentioned, “Menstruation in India has always been considered as a topic of taboo which results in lack of awareness. IMI Kolkata has taken an initiative to spread awareness on menstrual hygiene and to increase access and use of high quality sanitary napkins among young girls in rural areas. Hence, we are starting this initiative of providing sanitary napkins to teenage girls from rural areas. This time we have initiated this campaign in two schools of Burdwan and in future we will get in contact with many more schools in rural areas and spread awareness about sanitary napkins and menstruation”.
Multiple reports state that, 23% of adolescent girls drop out of school as proper facilities are not provided to them when they start menstruating. In schools, girls don’t have access to functional toilets, clean water, adequate sanitation, and disposable facilities. Menstruation is a natural, physiological function. A lot of women, however, grow up being ashamed of their bodies. A large section of society considers women during menstruation as ‘impure’ or ‘dirty’.. A large percentage of women are forced to use old cloth, newspapers, and even mud during menstruation. Sanitary pads are expensive and about 70 percent of women cannot afford them.
About IMI: IMI, Kolkata is a private B-School located in Kolkata, India. It laid its foundation in 2010. IMI Kolkata’s flagship Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) Programme is accredited by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). The programme is also accorded equivalence with Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The institute also offers a Doctoral level FPM/EFPM programme for scholars, academics and working individuals.
Therefore, while the installation of sanitary napkin vending machines in government schools in rural Bengal by this young B-School is an exemplary step — and should be replicated by many other institutes of repute in rural areas — a lot more still needs to be done at multiple levels. This is just the tip of the iceberg.