Bhopal: As part of its efforts to increase knowledge and improve menstrual hygiene, Stayfree®, a leading brand in menstrual hygiene, in partnership with Menstrupedia, a fast-growing startup that offers high social impact educational materials conducted a series of educational workshops in schools across cities of Madhya Pradesh.
As a part of these fun and interactive workshops, Menstrupedia educators engage with adolescent girls between the age group of 9 – 15 years on various aspects of puberty and menstruation. During these sessions, Menstrupedia comic books were distributed followed by an in-depth discussion on the physical, mental, and hormonal changes associated with puberty. Conversations focused on menstruation and menstrual hygiene, tracking the menstrual cycle, role of nutrition, along with myths surrounding a girl’s periods were busted to inculcate body positivity and boost self- confidence. These workshops are aimed to adequately bridge knowledge gaps, address social taboos and normalize period conversations in an open environment encouraging questions and discussions.
In 2020, Stayfree collaborated with Menstrupedia to bring alive its vision to educate young girls about periods to remove shame and fear associated with periods. Through comic books, animated videos and interactive workshops around menstruation, Stayfree and Menstrupedia has strived to create an informed and empowered generation of youth. As an outcome of this partnership, over 6 lakh comic books have been distributed to girls across India, 12, 000 workshops have been conducted and over 25,500 schools have been tapped.
Manoj Gadgil, Vice President, Marketing and Essential Health Business Unit Head, Kenvue said “Our partnership with Menstrupedia aligns with our larger mission of normalizing conversations about periods and create a world where no girl feels shame, fear or discomfort about her periods. Through these workshops, the brand aims to educate young girls about menstruation, equip them with the right knowledge delivered through easy-to-understand content and provide resources to equip young girls to have a healthy relationship with periods in the longer term. We are confident that these workshops will help girls navigate their menstrual health journey with confidence.”
Speaking on the rationale behind the workshops, Aditi Gupta, Co-Founder, Menstrupedia said, “We are working towards a future where periods are not seen as a taboo, menstruation is normalized, and every girl and their parents have the mindset that it’s just a period.”
Stayfree in partnership with Menstrupedia has successfully organized over 85 period awareness workshops across various regions of Madhya Pradesh, including Akbarpur, Kalapani, Borda, Amarawatkala, Surya Nagar, Semri, Gudari ghat, Ratanpur, Misrod,Bhairagarh Chichali, Salaiya Hinotiya Alam, Priyanka nagar Kolar, Chawni Raisen Road, Hinoti, Chichali Kolar Road, Mandora and many more. In 2022, Menstrupedia along with My FM, hosted over 45 workshops and distributed 5000 Menstrupedia Comic Mini Books across Madhya Pradesh to educate girls and women.