Young Girls Access to Education
Ujjaltara Girls Take the Lead
From Cloth to Choice
Ujjaltara is a collective of girls aged 12 to 18, studying in Classes VII and VIII based in Kalgachia village of Barpeta. Most of their families work in nurseries. They wanted to better manage their menstrual health, but they noticed they were not receiving the sanitary pads that were supposed to be available through the ASHA worker.
Instead of accepting the situation, the girls looked for a solution. With the intervention of FST they learned that sanitary pads were available at a low cost through the ASHA worker. With encouragement from our team, they prepared and submitted an application to the ASHA worker, requesting access to the pads.
Today, the collective receives sanitary pads from the ASHA worker. This has made it possible for the girls to buy pads at a lower cost. Some of them have also chosen to switch from using cloth to sanitary pads because they find them more convenient. By taking the initiative themselves, the girls made sure they could access a service that supports their health and daily lives.
One of the girls shared:
“Earlier, many of us could not buy sanitary pads because they were too expensive, so we used cloth instead. Now we can buy low-cost pads from the ASHA worker. Some of us have switched to using sanitary pads because they are more convenient, and we are very happy about this change.”
