Menstrual Health As A Human Right: An Empirical Study On Practice Of Menstrual Hygiene Management By Young Girls Residing In Slums In Trikuta Nagar In Jammu, J&K, India

Rasleen Kour, LL.M, Department of Law, University of Jammu, J&K, India

Dr. Prableen Kour, Assistant Professor, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital (ASCOMS), Jammu, J&K, India

ABSTRACT

The right to menstrual health and hygiene is available to every woman equally in a given society. However not all are privileged enough to enjoy this right as the constraints of economic capacities play their role in lives of these people and because of the same poor women are unable to exercise this basic right. Women hailing from weak economic background in India have to confront innumerable challenges in their daily lives for something as simple as maintaining their menstrual hygiene. This leads them to live with some of the unhealthiest methods for menstrual protection. Not only this, the societal pressure also plays its role in aggravating the situation by imposing various restrictions on the freedom of these women which comprises of practicing certain unscientific and ancient observances in 21st century world.

Therefore, the present empirical research has been conducted to study the inability of poor women, residing in slums of Trikuta Nagar area in the city of Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, in getting access to healthiest means of menstrual management materials. The collection and compilation of field data has been received with the help of questionnaire consisting of open ended questions and distributed them among the participants for their required responses. For this purpose young participant girls, residing in slums in the above mentioned area, aged between eleven to twenty five years have been studied and an inquiry has been conducted for learning their way of life and daily routines during menstruation and hardships which they have to undergo on regular basis, when they menstruated, ranging from not been able to afford safe menstrual management materials to the affect the same has on the exercise of some of their basic human rights, for instance, their right to basic education. Certain suggestions regarding the above matter have also been discussed in present research.

Keywords: Menstrual health, Menstrual Hygiene, Menstrual Management.