This 'Padman Of Jharkhand' Quit His Job To End The Stigma Around Menstruation - Infano Women's Health | Lifestyle

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During his interactions with the villagers, Mangesh Jha was alarmed to find out that most women used grass, sand, ash and even cow dung mixed with husk as pads during menstruation.

From restrictions on touching utensils and entering puja rooms to the hush-hush around buying sanitary napkins, the taboos around menstruation in India seems a long way from being over. With the stigma around menstruation rampant across the country, conversations around menstrual hygiene often take a back step. And when it’s a man that’s championing the cause, it gets all the more difficult to raise the subject with women, especially those belonging to the rural areas.

However, 31-year-old Mangesh Jha, popularly known as ‘Padman of Jharkhand’, has taken it upon himself to educate the women in the villages of Jharkhand. Undaunted by the challenges, the youngster has been on an advent to end the taboos around menstruation and to impart the habit of menstrual hygiene to rural women.

“During the Ambubachi Mela, we worship Goddess Kamakhya to celebrate her menstruation – our mythology says that Goddess Durga bleeds for four days. We consider this as such an auspicious event and celebrate it with all fervour. But what about the Durga in our own homes – our wives, daughters, and sisters?” asks Jha.

India has nearly 336 million menstruating women and adolescent girls. Of this, only 57.6 per cent of young Indian women (15-24 years) use a hygienic method of protection during their menstrual cycle, reported the National Family and Health Survey (2015-2016). In Jharkhand, only 49.6 of women followed hygienic menstrual practices and the figure stood at 39.4 in rural India.

According to data collected by the Ministry of Health, only 12% of women and girls have access to sanitary napkins. While there are several government-run programs to distribute sanitary pads, these often do not reach the grassroots.

Alarmed by these staggering figures, the youngster from Ranchi quit his job in 2013 to champion the cause of menstrual hygiene. Today, he has influenced nearly 1500 villages across Jharkhand and around 6000 households to practice menstrual hygiene.

The Beginning

Jha completed his graduation from Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar, in 2008. He then worked with hotels in Kolkata and Pune before moving to Ranchi in 2013.

While in Ranchi, he would travel around the city during weekends. “While Google had painted a pretty picture of Jharkhand, the reality was different,” he recalls. It was when he realised the plight of the villagers on the outskirts of Ranchi that the youngster decided to bid adieu to his job. While he started out by providing night school to the villagers, he soon began helping them with farming and employment.

As he got more involved with the villagers, he was alarmed to find out that most women used grass, sand, ash and even cow dung mixed with husk as pads during menstruation. Back then, Jha barely knew about menstruation or what a sanitary pad even looked like.

He then went home and told his mother about his interest in spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene. “My mother didn’t speak to me for seven days when I told her about my decision,” Jha recalls.

However, once Jha explained to her about the predicament of the villagers, his mother was the first to extend a hand of support. While his mother and sister helped him understand menstruation better, he researched about ways to help.

The Darker Side Of Sanitary Pads

While sanitary pads are crucial during menstruation, they pose a number of threats – environmental pollution being one of the biggest. Improper disposal of sanitary pads is not only extremely harmful to the environment, but it can also spread various diseases.

“After the release of the movie Padman in 2018, there was a sudden spike in the number of people that visited villages to distribute sanitary pads. While this helped the villagers, it also led to an increase in sanitary waste. If every woman in these villages started using sanitary pads regularly, can you imagine how huge a threat it posed to the environment?” asks Jha.

On an average, a woman uses around 10,000 sanitary pads in a lifetime. This means that a single user can generate nearly 125 kg of sanitary waste. According to reports, India creates a shocking 1.13 lakh tonnes of menstrual waste annually. These can take over 250 years to decompose fully.

To reduce the pile-up of sanitary waste, he educated the women to also make use of clothes during menstruation, a knowledge imparted to him by his grandmother. In addition, he also instructed them about various hygiene measures that were imperative while using clothes, like using a disinfectant while washing and proper sun-drying before use.

“While using clothes also reduced the impact on the environment, it also cut down on the financial burden on the women,” he says.

The Future

An ardent follower of Swami Vivekananda, Jha believes in making the villages self-sufficient.

“I don’t want any community to be dependent on me. Whenever I spent nearly six months in any village, I ensure to educate them to the extent that they are not dependent on me in the future,” Jha says.

“I work on the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, who said, “If you downpour the entire world economy in one village, that village won’t progress unless and until they don’t want to stand on their own feet”,” he adds.

Realising that his efforts alone cannot bring about change, he sought the intervention of the government in championing his cause. In about 5-6 villages, he worked with Asha and Anganwadi workers to mentor adolescents.

“While the government has several programs to provide free pads in schools, I want it to be channelised through these Asha workers, who will work as mentors to these adolescents. They will talk to the kids and their mothers to help bust the myths around menstruation,” he explains.

“As these mentors talk to the kids during each cycle of their menstruation, they would eventually be educated enough to buy sanitary pads and take care of their health on their own. This is what I envision for my state and my country,” Jha adds.

“I want the government to set up manufacturing units in some villages through SHGs (Self Help Groups). However, it should be strictly ensured that the pads produced should be biodegradable. This will also provide a livelihood to the villagers,” he says.

Stressing the need for women empowerment, Jha adds, “Women empowerment does not happen when just one or two women in a village get educated and get a good job or achieve a huge milestone. Women empowerment is not complete unless and until every woman in a village is empowered.”

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Birthing a baby is the most natural thing as all mammals can give birth naturally including humans. Many people don’t want to take any chances or risks to the mother or baby during pregnancy or delivery and often opt for the best OBGYN and medical facility to birth.

However, some woke couples are opting for a natural birth experience with a more positive, casual, and homely environment to reduce the birth trauma and also avoid unwanted medications. Birth experiences are not easy either. But a lot depends on how the mother has prepared herself for the experience. Recognizing this demand and void, many birthing centers have sprung up to give a homely yet medically sound birthing experience for to-be-parents.

Being a doctor herself, when Rohini Rau and her husband, Krishnakumar conceived their first child, she knew that she did not want a hospital-like experience for her during birth. Even in the face of a pandemic they had planned the pregnancy in the way they wanted. Having come across the midwifery concept a few years back through her friend’s birthing experience at Birthvillage Natural Birthing Center, Rohini was sure that when her turn came, a natural birth experience was what she would opt for.

Dr. Rohini Rau, is also an international sailor and has represented the country at the Olympics. Last year her team had secured 4th place in an international sailing competition after a sabbatical of 7 years. She is also a TED Fellow & TEDX speaker.

When the time came, the couple travelled all the way to Kochi, from Chennai. Also with the pandemic around they were sure that delivering a baby at the hospital was not an idea they were looking forward to. Rohini has worked both in government and private sector hospitals and knows the approach that doctors have towards child births. They are prepared for the worst and at times whether its required or not, the expecting mother is subjected to various Medicines, IVs and procedures that are uncalled for. The midwifery approach is very different. The entire focus is on making the expectant mother comfortable during the labour and ensuring safety of the baby at the same time. But hospitals seldom take the non-conventional approach and depend largely on medical procedures.

Taking to social media, Rohini shared her birth experience:

My Birth story (an excerpt)

At 4 am I started having a slight blood-stained vaginal discharge (bloody show) which became a lot more profuse as the day progressed. KK and I kept active between the contractions – we danced, we walked, we listened to music. The contractions slowly became a little more painful and got stronger around 5.30 pm. I was in touch with our midwife @priyankaidicula over the phone who also told us that it could happen today or in a few days.

During the contractions KK would massage my back and was just an amazing birth support partner. Our bags were already packed. I didn’t seem to want to sit or lie down, I was walking the entire time. We were supposed to wait until the contractions got to 5 mins apart and strong.

It was a 20-minute drive – we left the hotel at 11.45 pm and reached around 12 am. It was a dimly lit room with lanterns – Priyanka and 2 other nurses were there Anne and Smitha. Priyanka checked my cervical dilatation and said we were at 8 cm. She then said that the baby was ready, she has done all she can and now it’s just up to me.

The next few hours KK massaged and compressed my lower back during the contractions, which were now quite regular lasting a few minutes. He also played an 80s essential playlist to set the mood. I started with standing, walking, semi lying down, lying on my side and pulling my knees up during the contractions. Then I was on the floor kneeling with my arms and head on the pillow/bed.

I entered a trance-like state (Pregnancy Trance) where I was able to hear everything but wasn’t able to respond consciously. It’s almost like your body gets you into ‘high’ flushing your body with hormones to help you cope.

Priyanka kept mentioning that I had to let go and breathe in deep and let it go all the way to the bottom fully. I had brief moments where I did feel something happen. But my back was excruciating and the abdominal pain was intense as well.

I remember screaming out to KK ‘Back!!’ So that he would press my back. There was one contraction where I spent the entire time saying ‘Nooo’. And that I can’t!

Then it came to the final stages – Priyanka said I needed to walk and then when the contractions happened I had to squat with KK behind me and my arms on his arms and knees. Everything was such a blur! I remember at one point I was standing during a contraction and my water broke right there on our feet.

This was about 30 mins before the final push. After this point, there was a transition when the pain from my abdomen and back transitioned to a bearing down push. It was unreal how that happened. Just when I thought I was going to give up as the pain was a lot and I guess I was exhausted, the words of encouragement really helped.

Priyanka said that the baby is almost here and that I needed to do this! And with that final push in a semi-squat position, she gushed out like a cannonball! And Priyanka caught her even though she was slippery and so close to the ground. I remember coming to that point! Until then I had my eyes closed and was in my trance.

She was put on my tummy, she now had to make her crawl up to breastfeed. The placenta had to be delivered as well. The cord was still connected. About 20 mins later, the placenta was delivered and she was still connected to the cord & placenta for about an hour. KK cut the cord and Atiya had her first feed. I needed 3 stitches as there was a tear on my perineum. But it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be. We then had a long well deserved sleep for a few hours, Atiya’s weight and vitals were checked. I was given a hot bath which was so lovely! Then we had breakfast and went to our temporary home (Hotel Novotel Kochi Infopark) at 12 pm on the same day.

The entire post can be read here.

Do you have an interesting birth story? Did you have a supportive partner? Share your experience with us in the comments.