Kishori Suraksha Yojana in Uttar Pradesh

Kishori Suraksha Yojana- an Uttar Pradesh Govt. initiative for school girls

Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest states in India in terms of area and population. Uttar Pradesh is somehow back dated in terms of girl education and empowerment. There are several social evils still residing in the state against women such as female infanticide, not giving education to girls, child marriage of girls, dowry system, etc. There are also poor schooling facilities for girls in some parts of the state.

Kishori Suraksha Yojana

Surveys suggest that girl students leave school at a very early age and most of them do not have the chance to get higher education and have a career of their own. So the State Govt. has joined hands with United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), an international body which looks after education, rights and empowerment of children. Together they have launched a special scheme called Kishori Suraksha Yojana for the girl school students.

It is surveyed that menstruation is still considered as a stigma in the society. This results to embarrassment among school girls. Around 28 lakh school girls do not go to school every month during the menstruation cycle. Further researches have shown that nearly 20 lakh girl students quit school permanently due to menstruation. As a fact, menstruation is a natural occurrence which every adolescent girl experience.

But in the conservative society, it is a complete taboo as there is less or no awareness about it. Many school girls are themselves not educated about the menstruation process and get panicked after starting. There are also some religious discrimination related to menstruation. Girls while having menstruation are not allowed to enter religious places or in kitchen also.

To overcome this problem, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh has decided to bring awareness and stand beside the school girls. Under this Yojana, all girl students of Govt. schools will receive 10 sanitary napkins every month. Also the there has been a drive in making toilets compulsory in schools and other educational institutions.

According to Doctors, poor menstrual education affects health and hygiene which results in infection, vaginal discharges, cramps, etc. Researches show that girls use torn clothes during their menstruation due to lack of sanitary napkins.

The situation is worse in rural areas where it is shockingly found that girls use dried grass bundle or other local remedies in place of napkins during their menstruation. So the State Govt. has taken this major step towards girls’ education and empowerment and making them aware of the social taboo of menstruation and lent a helping hand.

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