By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 31: The absence of sanitary pads for adolescent girls in Meghalaya has led to absenteeism and, ultimately, school dropouts. To address this, the state government has decided to distribute sanitary pads in all schools across the state and simultaneously introduce self-defence training for girls.
Informing this, Chief Adviser to the Social Welfare department, Paul Lyngdoh, on Friday said that although sanitary pads were earlier distributed in schools and community centres, many girls stayed away due to their unavailability.
Stating that the government now intends to cover all schools under this programme, Lyngdoh added that, on average, a girl remains absent for about 10 days every month due to her menstrual cycle.
“It leads to a high rate of first absenteeism and ultimately turns into dropouts, and we would like to see that our girl children do not become incapacitated because of the menstrual cycle,” Lyngdoh said.
In addition, the Social Welfare department, in consultation with the Education department, will also upgrade and construct toilets in schools.
Furthermore, the government has also decided to roll out self-defence training programmes in schools across both urban and rural areas on a mission mode. This initiative will be carried out in consultation with the Police department and the Sports and Youth Affairs department.
Lyngdoh further informed that around 1,700 villages currently without Anganwadi Centres will have them established before March 2026.
Earlier, he also mentioned that the Social Welfare department recently reviewed the supplementary nutrition programme, which will now be enhanced with the inclusion of fresh food items that were previously not part of the diet.
The Asian Development Bank is also contributing by sanctioning ₹20 crore annually.
Stating that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who recently reviewed the implementation of various programmes, has called for micro detailing and analysis, Lyngdoh informed that the state government will also introduce working women’s hostels in Jowai, Ri-Bhoi, Shillong and Tura.
