Highlights
- Smriti Irani lauds jute based sanitary pads for low cost and no chemicals
- Union Minister pushes for entrepreneurship to make jute based sanitary pads
- A facility in Kolkata to make jute based sanitary pads was inaugurated
New Delhi: Natural, free of chemicals and cost-effective. These were the terms used by Union Minister of Textile Smriti Irani to promote low-cost sanitary napkins made of jute, at the inauguration of the 27th Technological Conference of Indian Jute Industries’ Research Association (IJIRA) at Kolkata. The Union Minister appreciated the progress made by IJIRA in manufacturing sanitary napkins made of jute, as well as promoting entrepreneurship among women. Unlike other sanitary napkins available in the market, jute based sanitary napkins have no chemical components, making them perfectly safe for usage.
Ms. Irani has requested IJIRA’s director Dr. Uma Sankar Sarma to give a demonstration of the jute manufactured sanitary napkins to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Rural Development and other ministries supporting women entrepreneurs.
The fact that jute has been used to reduce the chemical intervention in a sanitary napkin is a healthy blessing for every women. This product can be used to strengthen women entrepreneurs and this is another feather in the cap of IJIRA, said Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Textile.
Recently, several Union ministers have spoken about the necessity to promote menstrual hygiene. Union Ministers Uma Bharti and Maneka Gandhi have spoken about the importance of promoting menstrual hygiene and the possibility of collaboration between the Ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Women and Child Development and Textile to promote and make affordable sanitary napkins available to women in rural areas.
Also inaugurated IJIRA’s 100% Jute based eco-friendly and compostable Sanitary Napkin manufacturing facility. pic.twitter.com/kLDKpPzSCF
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 28, 2018
For sanitary pads out of jute, A machine is required that costs about Rs 10 lakh, and Ms Irani said that loans from the government under the MUDRA scheme could be availed by women led self-help groups to start businesses which revolved around the manufacture and sale of sanitary napkins made from jute.
During her visit, Smriti Irani also inaugurated a manufacturing facility where jute based sanitary napkins will be manufactured on a large scale. Jute based sanitary pads have long been considered as alternatives to the commercially available expensive sanitary napkins available in the market. Of 355 million menstruating women in India, 88 per cent have no access to sanitary napkins either because of lack of awareness, or these are too expensive or due to unavailability. now that menstrual hygiene is being given attention as a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and there is a push towards low-cost options like jute based sanitary napkins, hopefully these measures will direct India’s women towards better menstrual hygiene management.
