Menstrual Hygiene

After Celebrities Aam Janta Too Says ‘Periods, No Big Deal!’ As The #PadManChallenge Rages On

The #PadMan challenge gets everyone from Bollywood to sport personalities to the ordinary people, to show off a sanitary pad and not make a big deal out of it

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New Delhi: It is a week when selfies with pads, and not pouts, were the most talked about. From film stars, sports personalities, and in general netizens were seen flaunting a sanitary pad but more important was the message they were conveying, ‘There is nothing to be ashamed of about periods.’ Sceptics can brush it aside as a mere promotion for a film and question its real impact beyond social media. But in an otherwise opaque world where girls are conditioned to not talk about menstruation even within the privacy of homes, let alone in public domain, at least the #PadManChallenge got the vocal world of social media buzzing with, ‘Let’s talk about menstruation!’

The #PadManChallenge was initiated by India’s real PadMan – Arunachalam Muruganantham, who 14 years ago fought against all odds to come up with India’s first low-cost sanitary machine for women in rural India who were unable to avail the products available in the market, for economic and other reasons. After Murugantham tagged the stars associated with the film based on his life and work, the #PadManChallenge took off. From Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Twinkle Khanna, Radhika Apte, the challenge found support from the likes of Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, among many other Bollywood stars. It then had sport personalities like Cricket coach Ravi Shastri, Badminton champion PV Sindhu and Wrestling star Geeta Phogat joining in.

Also Read: #PadManChallenge: ‘A Pad In A Hand, Is Not A Big Deal’ – Celebrities Help To Break The Taboo Around Periods

But amidst all the glamour, the common netizen too was actively taking up the #PadManChallenge and doing their bit, to break the taboo around Menstruation.

After all menstruation is a natural process, that’s all!

It’s a sanitary napkin, what’s there to hide?

Say boo to taboos. Period.

United for a cause, #TalkAboutMenstruation

Yes, there’s nothing to be ashamed of – speak up!

Once the silence is broken only then can conversations around issues begin. Apart from women’s health aspect of menstruation, a sanitary pad also highlights the lack of access to hygiene products which is a reality for 88% of menstruating women in this country, due to economic and other constraints. A pad is also a cause of concern as it is sanitary waste that ends up in landfills untreated. So some on social media, as part of this challenge, went the extra mile and posted pictures of holding eco-friendly sanitary napkins. So it is not just about fighting the stigma, pushing for hygienic solutions, it is also about being environmentally responsible.

It is only pertinent that such issues get highlighted. The PadMan biopic is on Arunachalam Muruganantham, a man who made sanitary pads accessible to women in rural parts and his products are both low cost and biodegradable. The true achievement of the challenge and the movie, which releases on February 9, will be to open up the discussion on menstruation, where menstural hygiene, and management of menstrual waste are not brushed away as a problems that don’t exsit, just because no one talks about them.

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