Recently while watching television I saw an advertisement and I found it really interesting. So yeah it was about sanitary pads….   

In the advertisement, a man is shown smoking cigarette in front of a hospital while her wife is admitted to it suffering from a vaginal infection.

Here is how the conversation of the man goes with Akshay…..

Akshay: Hey! Nandu why are you smoking outside the hospital?

Nandu: My Wife is Sick.

Akshay: Why what happened?

Nandu: Don’t know it’s some kind of female problem.

Akshay: How much the cigarette costs you?

Nandu: 10rs

Akshay: 10rs isn’t it’s so costly and how many more you have in your pocket.

Nandu: I have one more. Why?

Akshay: You can smoke cigarettes each day for 20rs knowing its only gonnaa burn your lungs but you can’t afford sanitary pads which will actually save the life of your wife. Shameful…!

Nandu now drops the cigarette and goes in deep introspection and a state of self-realization.

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The advertisement demonstrated how simple it is to understand these simple and hygienic things if we just give it a thought.  

But…..

Is our Indian society just like Nandu who understood how adverse the ignorance of sanitary pads could be? No, the scenario is far different as in India out 355 million women only 12% of women use sanitary pads while the other 88% go on the with other traditional practices in such time.

The reason for such restrictions

There is a lack of awareness about menstruation in India, which causes many problems related to health. There are many types of misconceptions about women in particular in rural areas. This is probably why there is little awareness about the use of sanitary pads in rural areas so far. During the time of mensuration, a woman has to suffer from a lot of things, especially in rural areas.

Listing down some of the terms and condition which are been imposed while their mensuration period:

• Women are restricted to touch pickles stating that the odour of menstruating women is not good for preservatives in the food.

• They are not allowed to enter the kitchen area and also restriction is been made to touch the food made for another family member.

• Do not bathe during your period.

• Do not wash your stained/unstained clothes in the open.

• Do not go to the temple.

• The most pathetic among all – do not go to school.

Pathetic….!

We talk too much about modernizing our self, being too much rich with our intellectual and then we see such miserable and inadequate things around our society huh….!

Doctors say that this restriction and careless behavior of not using the sanitary pads is the mainstream reason that about 70 percent of women suffer from reproductive tract infections. As far as clothing is concerned, this is an old way. But the experts say that women often suffer from infections after washing the clothes for use and then drying them in the sun.

Our typical society has just made the use of sanitary pads a taboo because it’s nothing more than that.

Well, the positive part that came out of blue….

From past few years, our Indian government has shown some really great effort in spreading the awareness towards this issue. Several schemes and initiative such as “Project Baala”, Swach Bharat Abhiyaan are working really hard to eradicate this issue. Several NGO’s and private organization are doing some really great job along with their respected volunteers by visiting rural areas, distributing free sanitary pads and educating them about its benefits and why it is too much hygienic for such times.

Hope the perception of the folks will switch and sooner they will understand that menstruation is very natural and use of sanitary pads is a much more hygienic thing for such time.