Abstract
Women in poor nations often have poor menstrual hygiene. We are testing whether an intervention within rural self-help groups can address these challenges. We focus on behavior change beyond education. We use illustrated stories, brief animations, and role-play to make content vivid. We address perceived social norms, by giving the women in the self-help group an opportunity to collectively endorse safer behaviors. We want women to control their bodies and lives. We provide risk-free trials and free samples of affordable menstrual cups (M-cups) that can improve hygiene, make it easier to go to work outside the home, and save money. The objective is to understand the scope for scaling up the adoption of M-cups among married women in India to promote positive change and advance menstrual health initiatives and the adoption of M-cups as an affordable and convenient option. Compared to the status quo, we remove barriers on the supply side by creating a supply chain for menstrual cups. \
* The module focuses on changing women’s perceptions of the norms of her community, and clarifying the frequently asked questions and answers on the usage of menstrual cups so they accept the new behaviors (e.g., cooking while menstruating) and encourage their peers to also accept the new behaviors. We take advantage of increasing smartphone usage in the rural community by creating a WhatsApp group among women to share videos and presentations on MHM.Distributing engaging illustrated stories and informative videos