Renowned scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, recently released a report on the occasion of World Environment Day which focuses on the use of menstrual cups as a method for managing menstrual hygiene. According to the report titled 'Why India needs to move beyond sanitary pads’, users shared their experience of using the cup, and most women found that the menstrual cup helped them “improve their work efficiency, ensure privacy, and greater mobility.”
784 women were surveyed including 109 adolescent women who purchased cups between January 2022 and March 2023. Around 84.4 per cent of them had used it for all of the last three months, while a small number had used it for only one or two of the previous three cycles. 83.5 per cent used the cup, while the rest used pads, cloth, and a combination of the two.
The report by Action Research and Training for Health (ARTH), was released during a webinar titled 'Sustainable Menstrual Hygiene Options', hosted by ARTH and Population Foundation of India. Speaking on the occasion, Swaminathan said, “The report estimates that a woman generates around 14.1 kg of non-biodegradable waste in a lifetime if she uses commercially manufactured disposable sanitary pads. On the other hand, if she uses menstrual cups she will generate .06 kg of non-biodegradable waste. This reduces the generation of total non-biodegradable waste by 99 per cent and is an example of a win-win intervention that is good for the environment and good for health and hygiene.” She added that menstrual cups are practical, hygienic, and cost-effective and more women needed to know about them and myths around their use need to be busted. The webinar also included young women who shared their experiences of leading initiatives for menstrual hygiene and cloth pad accessibility in their respective communities.
The ARTH report states that pads are the most used method as these have been widely promoted by the corporate sector and distributed free or subsidised by the government. Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India, urged the need to undertake communication campaigns with communities to support the use of menstrual cups. “Evidence shows that women who transitioned from locally made cloth pads to cups experienced high levels of satisfaction. Promoting cups as a method of menstrual hygiene management along with other options like pads and tampons will offer choice to women and let them choose a method that they prefer to use,” she said.