Tamil Nadu-based NGO Gramalaya, founded by Padma Shri awardee Sai Damodaran, has launched Menstrual Cafe in Tiruchi. The café has been launched as a safe space for women and adolescent children to speak about their menstrual health and to clarify doubts. The café, according to Damodaran, is the first of its kind in South India.
According to an IANS report, the social worker said, "We want every woman and adolescent girl in the country to have a healthy and safe menstrual period and to get any doubts regarding this cleared." He added that several college-goers and women often approach their Menstrual Health Educators (MHE) to clear their doubts.
Damodaran said, "During several such interactive sessions in colleges on menstrual health, many students approach our MHEs to clear their doubts on menstrual health and hygiene and then we thought that we should open a café where women and adolescent girls can clear their doubts on the subject." He said that most of the girls get menstrual education from their mothers or friends and, in many cases, these children are not properly aware of their menstrual health.
Damodaran, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 for his service to society through Gramalaya, said, "In most of the cases, children are reluctant to discuss their genuine doubts on menstrual health with their mothers, friends and their teachers, and instead of getting this information from Google, they can feel free at the Menstrual Cafés that we are planning to open across the state."
The Menstrual Cafe will be open from 10 am to 6 pm on all days, except Sundays, and the service is free. There will be two menstrual health educators who will help and guide the women and girls who visit the café with doubts about menstrual health and hygiene. The NGO said that if some girl has any serious menstrual or health issue, then they will be referred to a hospital by the MHEs.
Damodaran said that the café has educational material and resources on menstrual health and hygiene. He said that he got the idea to open the Menstrual Cafe from the NGO Sacchi Saheli, which has opened such menstrual cafés in other parts of the country.
