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Karnataka will offer schoolgirls menstrual cups. Can it bring about a switch to reusable products?
On January 7, the Karnataka government announced a flagship programme to provide free menstrual cups to over a million female students. Since cups, unlike disposable sanitary pads, are reusable, the scheme is aimed at saving the state government over Rs 16 crore and prevent millions of pads from ending up in landfills.
The menstrual cups will be offered to older students, from class 9-12, alongside sanitary pads, from the next academic year. With this move, Karnataka is the first Indian state to endorse menstrual cups through a state-wide scheme.
By advocating for reusable period products, just months after introducing paid menstrual leave, Karnataka has taken a welcome step towards dismantling menstrual taboos and empowering women and girls.
In addition to being cheap and eco-friendly, cups can make dealing with periods less stressful. As one cup can hold three times more flow than a pad, girls can wear them all day without worrying about leaks and stains.
Asan, the social enterprise I work for, distributed over 100,000 free menstrual cups, over half of which have been to women and girls in rural Karnataka, from 2021 to 2025. Girls in our programmes reported significant cost savings on sanitary pads, higher rates of school and college attendance, fewer rashes and infections, and a measurable reduction in anxiety related to periods.
Despite these benefits, menstrual cup adoption is not always easy.
Cups are worn internally and must be sterilised every month, making them fundamentally different from pads in terms of insertion, removal and cleaning. The learning curve is steeper for adolescent girls and young women, with the added pressure of taboos over the insertion of menstrual cups into their bodies. Due to perceptions about “virginity” among conservative groups and communities, unmarried women and girls are often advised against insertable products.
Asan's experience shows that menstrual cups can certainly be adopted at scale, if the distribution is accompanied by a meticulous behaviour change programme. Such a programme must provide continuous support to girls as well as their mothers for up to six months. This creates space for communities to gradually become accustomed to the product, and for network effects to take place, where early adopters can influence and train their peers.
Based on years of experience designing menstrual cup behaviour change programmes, here are five key steps to ensure that the government's scheme achieves its potential:
First, make sure the girls receive a truly good product. A low-quality cup that leaks, stains or fits poorly will be abandoned after the first attempt. The material should be USP Class VI (medical grade) silicone, and should be designed for ease of use, with different sizes available depending on menstrual flow.
Second, involve mothers in the education programme. If girls receive cups but their mothers are not aware of the product, they will face scepticism and resistance at home. The best way to get a girl to adopt a menstrual cup is to provide one to her mother first. Mothers realise the benefits of cups – and understand that they don't impact virginity – once they try one themselves. They can then play a crucial role not only in influencing their daughters to try cups, but in training them on how to use them.
Third, create local language digital content, including how-to-use videos, that girls can watch in their free time. Written pamphlets are a useful start, but interactive videos that demonstrate how insertion, removal and cleaning are critical. These videos should be available in Kannada, English and all other languages spoken in the state. They can be easily disseminated on social media and Whatsapp.
Fourth, create a cohort of menstrual cup ambassadors. Early adopters of the cup are the best advocates, as they will spread the word to their peers. Sports teams are a great place to start, as girls who are active are likely to see the immediate benefits of cups, enabling them to run, bicycle, exercise and swim freely. Girls who take to cups easily should be rewarded for educating and training their peers.
Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, respect freedom of choice. I personally believe that menstrual cups are one of the best inventions of recent times: but not everyone will want to, or be able to, use one. Asan has worked with diverse communities including people with disabilities and girls with vaginismus, for whom cups are not a suitable option.
Providing a range of product options, as the government is indeed planning to do, ensures that everyone is included in the government's menstrual health policy.
If implemented well, the Karnataka government's menstrual cup scheme has the potential to transform the lives of millions of students. It will reduce anxieties associated with periods and can even improve learning outcomes, by enabling students to attend school and college with ease. It will set a wonderful example to other states of India – and indeed other countries – to follow suit.
Ira Guha is the founder of Asan, a social enterprise working to end period poverty.
Source: Scroll
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