LIVE A LIFE, TO BRING A SMILE!
The world is a beautiful place- indeed, it is! My point of view says it is, but I believe everyone has their own lenses to perceive this world and not everyone can afford the rosy ones.
For a person who has since their birth struggled for every single aspect of life that we are privileged enough to have already, the world is not a good enough place. Shouldn’t we try, at least, to show them how we see this world- beautiful, colorful, optimistic?
Envisioning this, Mr. Tarun Mathur- a father, began his journey to make this come true! Why did I specifically describe him as a father, you might wonder. It was important to mention the motivation for his vision, the safety of his daughter. After the nightmare that the world witness- ‘The Nirbhaya Case,’ it was natural for everyone to be concerned about their daughters, sisters, and other women in their lives. However, instead of fixating on the fact that women should be the ones taking charge of their safety, Mr. Mathur understood that the deeper problem lies in the society itself.
And so began the journey of a beautiful family, ‘Humari Pahchan,’ that wants to help everyone create their own identities (pahchan), To create a world full of hope, tolerance, and equity, where there is no poverty and everyone lives with a sense of dignity and security. With this vision, we have initiated various drives- ‘Support the elderly,’ ‘Bridging the gap between privileged and underprivileged kids,’ ‘Menstrual health awareness,’ and ‘Skill development project.’
However, I would like to focus on one initiative that I feel deeply about amongst these- ‘Menstrual health awareness.’ Now, you might think how, of all the issues that I listed above this is supposed to be most important for me?
To answer this, I would again like to start with ‘perspective,’ of a girl this time. Imagine being so young that it is tough for you to figure out why your body is undergoing this blood discharge. You have been to school but no one ever talked about this and you feel ashamed to share it, even to your own mother. “LACK OF EDUCATION ABOUT MENSTRUAL HYGIENE”
Secondly, imagine understanding the reason behind this, the biological cycle that every girl must go through, but not being able to understand how to use sanitary pads and manage using them. Feeling confused, this little girl might find it easier to rather skip her classes. “LACK OF CLEAN SANITATION FACILITIES.”
Third, let’s imagine the girl manages everything else perfectly along with her studies, but has a weak financial situation. She wants to use the sanitary pads but is unable to afford it, so she must stay home despite her willingness to manage everything else. “LACK OF AVAILABILITY TO POOR SEGMENT OF SOCIETY.”
Finally, the girl grows up, becoming a woman, she gets married. Staying with in-laws, she is not allowed to talk about her menstrual health, the days she is not feeling at ease. Instead of getting the comfort and support that any female needs during this painful time, she is being told not to enter the temple for worship and kitchen to cook. She struggles with everything, along with the very possibility of being at a risk of menstrual disorders. “MENSTRUAL TABOOS” and “UNAWARENESS REGARDING MENSTRUAL DISORDERS.”
This is a very brief life story of about 55% of women in India, the women who are known to have an unsanitary menstrual hygiene. This figure shocks me to my very core, makes me wonder about the lives of those women, who must undergo so many struggles silently.
This is the reason that I feel so deeply about this cause, maybe because I am also a female, I can imagine at least about the pain that these women go through every single day.
I would never say that other causes are not as important as this one. But I can say that no other cause is under highlighted the way this is. So, I hope we can all join hands and contribute to this generous cause, or to any other cause that we might feel deeply about, and feel the satisfaction that the smiles on the faces of these people bring to our hearts.
It has been so rightly said-
“We cannot help everyone, but everyone can help someone!”
