Kashmiri woman provides sanitary kits in ladies washrooms in Srinagar amid coronavirus

Srinagar: A Kashmiri woman, Irfana Zargar, is placing sanitary kits in public washrooms of Srinagar as part of a menstrual hygiene campaign to provide napkins free of cost to local women. Irfana installed a home-made Eva Safety Door sanitary napkin kit for women and young girls in the public washrooms which lack such facilities for the ladies.

The sanitary kit includes sanitisers, baby diapers and wet tissues along with the sanitary pads.

“At first, I started this initiative in my society and placed sanitary kits in 15 washrooms. My aim was to make Kashmiri women feel secure and confident whenever they travel outside and never feel helpless,” Irfana told ANI.

Irfana Zargar is a working employee and manages the expense of the sanitary kits from her own pocket to help others who may be deprived of these facilities. She started this initiative before the COVID-19 pandemic and continued her efforts even in the middle of the lockdown.

“During the lockdown, I started ‘door-to-door’ delivery of these sanitary kits to provide a hygienic menstrual experience to all the women in the valley,” she said.

The objective of this initiative is to provide these basic amenities free of cost to the women during an emergency or odd hours.

“I salute Irfana Ji for this endeavour. It’s a very empowering step for the women across Srinagar,” Meraj-u-din Ahmad, a Srinagar Municipal Corporation employee, said.

Local residents of Srinagar also appreciated the efforts of Irfana Zargar and said that it was not only a great step for women safety but also a humanitarian cause.

“College girls and working ladies come and use these sanitary kits. It’s a great initiative and helps so many women at odd hours,” Fehmeeda Jan, a local resident, told ANI.

“It’s a humanitarian cause which is helping so many women and should be applauded and supported by everyone. Soaps and sanitisers are the need of the hour. This initiative has motivated people to stress upon hygiene and cleanliness as well,” Bashir Ahmad, a shopkeeper, said. (ANI)