Bihar: Bhagalpur girl to reach out to 6,000 teenagers

PATNA: Even as Covid-19 pandemic has forced people to remain confined to their houses, Bhagalpur-based Shalini Jha is working towards sexual and reproductive health and rights of young unmarried women, especially in the rural areas, as only 31% of girls use clean methods for dealing with menstrual hygiene in the district.
Through her project, christened ‘Alharh’, Shalini is working towards creating a robust community in the state that debunks myths around menstrual health and hygiene.The 12-month campaign that started in December last year has set a target to reach out to at least 6,000 adolescent girls from government as well as private schools and also to those out of schools.
“To ensure that the range of awareness is not limited to a certain group of women, the campaign targets to create awareness and inform frontline group of at least 50 members comprising youth volunteers, teachers, parents, anganwadi workers and ASHA workers by the end of this year,” she said.
On the name of the campaign, which uses the Hindi word ‘Allhar’, she said it defines the essence of teenage. “Young menstruates are often pushed to let go of their childlike playfulness owing to the damaging silence, judgement and anxiety around menstruation,” she said.
Jha also has a year-long association as a community leader with the ‘Health Over Stigma’ campaign, started in 2017 by ‘Haiyya: Organise for Action’ that aims to fight for young unmarried women by ensuring stigma-free healthcare services.