Kashmiri woman distributes menstrual kits to girls amid coronavirus lockdown

Srinagar: While some people are distributing necessary food items to the needy amid Covid-19 lockdown, Irfana Zargar is busy distributing free of cost sanitary kits to women and young girls in Srinagar and nearby villages in Kashmir valley.

Due to the coronavirus lockdown, women in Kashmir were facing problems in getting their hands on sanitary napkins due to their free movement and closure of markets.

Under an initiative called ‘Eva Safety Kit’, Irfana Zargar decided to do something for women and she dedicated the initiative to her late and beloved father, Ghulam Hassan Zargar.

She has distributed menstrual kits in around 15 washrooms around Srinagar which are available at free of cost.

“I started this concept in the washrooms first, when it came to my mind, I wanted to cover 15 washrooms in Srinagar city and later go to villages” said Irfana.

“If my sisters and brothers are with me then by the grace of God I will take this initiative forward and I want to take this mission to villages after the lockdown gets lifted, I will start this initiative again in the washrooms” she added.

Irfana has invested half her salary in purchasing menstrual products and has distributed it all to unprivileged girls.

Irfana Zargar’s kit contains all the essentials that are required for maintaining healthy menstrual practices like sanitary napkins, antispasmodics and hand wash.

She further said women are the building blocks of the society, therefore it’s important to take care of their health if we want our society to progress.

Locals are also lauding the initiative and supporting her.

Srinagar resident Maryam Jain said “She is doing a good job because during the lockdown we could not go outside, so we use to contact here and she helped us. It is a good deed”.

People like Zargar help in bringing a positive change in the society and they also make people’s lives easier and healthier.

It is estimated that around 120 million menstruating adolescents in India experience menstrual dysfunctions that affect their normal daily chores. But only 36 per cent of its 355 million menstruating females use napkins. (ANI)