Testimonial 5

Madhuri’s story is encouraging to everyone, let us introduce you to Madhuri Rajput, resident of Nauakhera, who is a farmer by profession. Nauakhera is a very backward village in Bakshi Talab block of Lucknow. Where women are not allowed to go out of the house, and have to remain veiled even inside the house. DFT’s team had conducted a menstrual hygiene management program in that village in which women were aware of many information related to menstruation.

The women said that they use cloth during menstruation because pads are not available in our village and we are not allowed to go out of the village. Madhuri Rajput of that village was also a part of our session, who was very impressed.

She decided to do something for women and thought of opening a shop at her home in the middle of her village in which she decided to sell Asani packets, now she provides pads to the women of the entire village.

When Desai’s team asked Madhuri as to what caused her to see changes in herself, she very simply told that through the Asani program, she came to know about many taboos and stigmas related to menstruation, which actually are not related to menstruation. And all the women of the village like me believe in it because this tradition has been going on since the time of our grandmothers, they had accepted it, so we also have to accept it because no one had explained it to us. She said that I myself was infected due to using cloth in periods, now we are worried about ourselves too, so I decided to become a sangini of this project so that I can provide pads to the women in the village itself and can save to my future generations from those unnecessary taboos and stigmas.