Bhubaneswar: Odisha is witnessing a quiet but significant transformation in the way adolescent girls experience education and menstrual health, particularly in its remote and tribal districts.
In Kandhamal’s Dutipada Government High School, newly established Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) corners now offer girls private, safe spaces to change sanitary pads, access hygiene information, and dispose of waste with dignity.
These small but crucial facilities are playing a vital role in helping girls remain in school during menstruation.
Despite Odisha’s cultural traditions, such as the Raja festival, which celebrates womanhood, access to menstrual hygiene remained a challenge for years. A 2014 WaterAid study showed that nearly 23 per cent of adolescent girls in the state missed school during their periods due to inadequate facilities.
To address this gap, the state government launched the Khushi scheme in 2018 to provide free sanitary pads to school going girls, with technical support from UNICEF. The organisation also assisted in framing Odisha’s Menstrual Hygiene Policy in 2022.
According to UNICEF officials, MHM corners go beyond improving hygiene practices by protecting girls’ dignity, health and right to education, especially in tribal areas where access to water, sanitation and health services is limited. Building on these efforts, the Odisha government launched the Advika programme in 2024 with UNICEF’s support, expanding the focus from hygiene to broader adolescent empowerment and protection.
The results are gradually becoming visible. Nearly 27 per cent of villages in Odisha are now free from child marriage, and secondary school dropout rates are showing steady improvement.
Through integrated initiatives like MHM Corners and Advika, the state is steadily emerging as a national example of how hygiene, education and empowerment can work together to secure a better future for adolescents.