Workshop on menstrual hygiene held

NEW DELHI: In order to ensure school children receive correct information on adolescent health and menstrual hygiene, the Delhi Commission of Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) conducted its first sensitisation workshop for Delhi government school teachers on Saturday.

Ranjana Prasad, member, DCPCR, said the workshop would help reduce hesitance among science teachers while covering chapters related to these topics in classes.

“Incorrect information and incomplete knowledge can lead young minds to the wrong track.

DCPCR will host such programs in many districts of Delhi to ensure that the children are equipped with the right knowledge through teachers at the right time,” she said.

Gynecologist Dr Surbhi Singh, president of Delhi-based NGO Sachhi Saheli, which has been roped in to conduct these seminars, addressed over 100 science teachers and counsellors at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, West Vinod Nagar, on Saturday on how to discuss topics such as menstruation, sex education, masturbation, gender and sexuality, and taboos with children.

“Often, there is a lack of vocabulary among teachers while addressing these topics.

The workshop will help build that. Though children have access to a lot of information through the internet, there is no guarantee how much of it is reliable. So, teachers must be equipped with the required knowledge,” she said.

Using her experience of over a decade, Singh said she also talked about details of menstruation so that students could identify health anomalies better.

Most teachers were supportive of the initiative. “The workshop was excellent and I learnt many new things. We have suggested that similar sessions be conducted directly with students as well,” said Ashok Kumar, a government school teacher from

Khichripur.

Shagufta, another science teacher, said, “The session will help teachers formulate ways on how to conduct these classes in co-ed schools where students might be shy about asking questions. We have received pointers on how we can normalise the conversation about menstrual hygiene and adolescent health. ”

However, some teachers were not impressed with the seminar.

“We are science teachers. We know the basics. There has to be something more in these workshops, preferably researchbased. A seminar like this doesn’t work much,” said Mukesh Yadav, a teacher who attended the workshop.