Indian Women and Menstruation

In general, poor Indian women do not wipe at all when they pee unless they are on their periods.  Then, they wear underwear or pin cloth around themselves and put a folded up reusable towel or rag to catch their blood.  Women are starting to purchase disposable sanitary pads, but as these are expensive it is still more common for them to use towels and rags.  They clean the towels and rags themselves and hang them to dry.  As you can imagine, wearing these towels restricts women’s movement quite a bit just because it is so cumbersome.  There are all sorts of taboos associated with menstruating women- some are not allowed to cook, visit temples, touch their husbands, etc.  But the most difficult part involves toileting.  There are not enough public toilets in India (hence why people pee in the streets), and it is much more difficult to discreetly urinate when one must first lift the sari up high and remove panties and menstruation rags.  Because periods are messy, women then have the need to wipe with water each time they urinate, and this is also difficult to do in public.  For this reason, girls sometimes drop out of schools when they start menstruating and women’s activities are limited when they are on their periods.  The toilet facilities in most schools are not adequate to give girls the space to clean themselves while they are on their period, and the taboos associated with menstruation can cause a young girl a lot of embarrassment.  It’s strictly taboo to leave any evidence of menstruation such as soiled sanitary pads or bits of blood in the toilet, yet the public facilities usually do not have running water or trash bins. 

Wealthier Indian Women

For middle class women, things are a lot easier.  They have a larger range of clothing to choose from and they use disposable sanitary pads.  Moreover, they can easily clean themselves with water when they are on their periods then wash their hands with soap afterwards.  

More here:

http://www.mum.org/menhydev.htm

http://www.newint.org/features/2008/08/01/women-girls/

How Indian Women Dispose of Sanitary Pads

An American woman visiting India is likely to be confused about how to dispose of sanitary pads and tampons.  It is rare to find trash cans in the bathrooms of Indian homes, and it is even less common to see them in public toilets (when you can find one).  Even if there is a trash bin, there is no toilet paper to wrap the pad or tampon up in and no toilet paper to clean yourself afterwards. 

How To Dispose of Pads At Home

I asked middle class Indian women how they deal with this.  They say that when they are at home, they wrap their soiled pads in newspaper, then take it to the main trash can in the home.  If there are people present that would make this embarrassing, they keep a plastic bag in their bedrooms where they dispose of their soiled pads until a more convenient time allows them to throw them in the main trash. 

How To Dispose of Pads At Other People's Houses

I asked what they did when they were visiting other people’s homes.  They said that they frequently carry their purse with them into the bathroom, wrap their soiled pads in newspaper, put it in a plastic bag in their purse, then disposed of them when they got back to their own homes.  If it is a good friend or relative, then they just put the soiled pad in the main trash like they would at home. They admitted that this process is very difficult sometimes when they are in a new place.

How To Dispose of Pads In Public

I asked what they did when they were in public, and most said they follow the same process with the plastic bag in the purse though some admitted that they simply throw the soiled pad on the floor of the public restroom because they felt they had no other option.  Everyone I spoke to pointed out that it is becoming more and more common to see trash cans in restrooms, and I’m sure it is much more common in India now than it used to be.  However, it is still far less common than it is in the US and the American woman traveler will struggle with this inconvenience unless she stays most in fancy places geared towards middle class and wealthy Indians.

All women said that when they are on their period, they clean with water then wash their hands afterwards.