Madhya Pradesh fares worst in unhygienic menstrual practices across India

Shame around menstruation also forces girls to opt out of school once they reach puberty

Only in seven of India’s 36 states/union territories did 90% or more women in the 15-24 age group use hygienic protection during menstruation, according to the latest national health data.

Not even 50% women used clean methods of dealing with menstrual hygiene in eight states/union territories. The mean for these eight states was 43.5%, with Bihar the worst at 31%, according to the National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS), released in 2015-16.

In seven states — Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, NCT Delhi, Kerala, Mizoram, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu — 92% of the