#GiveHer5: How Rs 12/month can ensure girls don't drop out of schools

Did you know that 80 percent of India's girls cannot afford sanitary protection? 1 in 5 adolescent girl students drop out of school due to inaccessibility of menstrual protection? A group of NGOs in India are trying to change the trend. With as little as Rs 12 per month, one girl can have access to safe, hygienic, sanitised menstrual protection. #GiveHer5 is creating waves on social media with celebrities, businessmen, common citizens alike contributing to keeping our girl children in schools.

#GiveHer5 claims that of the 600 million females in India, well over 400 million struggle every month to go to school or work because of their period. At least 80 percent of girls in India can't afford sanitary aides. At least 40 million girls do not have places to change. Unfortunately, this forces them to miss five days of school or work on a monthly basis that translates to missing two months of school every year. Considering that the biggest barrier to access sanitary care is affordability, the #GiveHer5 campaign is raising money to provide sanitary aides.

Their solution to the affordability factor is Saafkins, an advanced reusable sanitary protection. It is an easier and cheaper alternative to current sanitary aides. With current sanitary aides being unaffordable for many, over 88 percent of women resort to shocking alternatives like unsanitised cloth, ashes, husk or sand. the #GiveHer5 campaign is pushing for Saafkins, a 12-hour reusable menstrual aide.

Saafkins is a bacteria and yeast killing, reusable, washable, affordable sanitary solution. Donors can contribute anywhere between Rs 150 and Rs 6,000. Every Rs 150 takes care of sanitary protection for one girl for a whole year. The campaign says that every Saafkins napkin is treated with Livinguard, a proprietary disinfecting textile-treatment technology. This makes the fabric antimicrobial and skin safe. Due to a special stain-release technology, the four-layer Saafkins is easy to wash and reuse. It is reusable for up to 1 year and can sustain 60 washes. it is also 80 percent biodegradable.

Celebrities like Arjun Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Varun Dhawan have pledged to #GiverHer5 in an attempt to encourage more people to give our girls the freedom to follow their dreams without 'those five days' becoming a barrier.

OneIndia News