Over 1.68 Lakh Schoolgirls to Get Free Sanitary Napkins: Tripura Government

State education minister Ratan Lal Nath on Thursday said that the government will spend around Rs 1.86 crore annually for the said programme.

Minister Ratan Lal Nath said, " The state government has decided to provide free sanitary napkins to the schoolgirls of between class 6 to 12 under Kishori Suchita Abhyjan. Both the government and private school girls would be brought under the programme."

The scheme aimed to ensure that schoolgirls do not skip classes during their 'period days'.

Moreover, the government has also decided to implement 'School Bag Policy' formulated by the Centre.

According to a guideline of the policy, the weight of a school bag for students of between classes 1 to 10 should be 10 percent of their body weight.

Earlier in March last year, the Assam government announced providing free sanitary napkins to school girls of between class 6 to 12 under the menstrual hygiene programme in view to improve menstrual hygiene among adolescent girl students of Assam.

And in December, the Tamil Nadu government announced to provide free sanitary napkins to government school girls in urban areas as well as women inpatients at government medical institutions under the same programme.

According to National Health Mission, for girls and women to live healthy and productive lives with dignity, menstrual hygiene is a priority. There is a complete neglect of menstrual hygiene in many areas due to a low level of awareness and lack of access to sanitary products.

To promote menstrual hygiene, the program combines health education for adolescent girls, providing a regular supply of sanitary napkins, and enabling other hygiene measures such as access to water and toilets in schools and in the community through convergence with other programmes.

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