The will install 8,000 sanitary napkin pad vending machines ‘Meri Saheli’ across all districts to make them available in public places for easy access, said the Women Empowerment and Child Development (WECD) minister Rekha Arya on the occasion of Menstrual Hygiene Day on Sunday. She said that the government is making consistent efforts to eliminate the hesitation of young girls and women towards menstruation and raise awareness about menstrual hygiene and Health awareness in general. She said that menstruation is a natural phenomenon and children should be made aware of this to ensure they do not get wrong information about it and get misguided on the topic by believing in taboos associated with it.
She said that though times are changing and people are more aware of menstrual health and associated facts but many still believe in taboos and consistent efforts are being made to raise awareness among the maximum number of people. The WECD minister stated this during her address at an event in Dehradun held on the occasion of Menstrual Hygiene Day. Many girls and women participated in the event interacted with health experts and asked questions about menstrual health.