Encouraging women and girls to lead life with confidence and dignity to be able to participate in economic and social activities through menstrual awareness and innovations.
Menstruation is a topic that is often refrained from talking about, especially in rural areas. It is believed to be shameful and speaking of it is an act of disgrace. Girls are often shocked when they notice blood for the first time as they are never told about this natural phenomena, not at school and neither at home. They are often given home cloth to manage periods and made to believe the myths that have been passed on from generations in their families.
They are often treated as untouchables during their cycle and restricted to participate in social and other activities. Sometimes, they are made to live in huts located outside the houses and are not allowed to enter the kitchens and places of worship. Girls often skip school during periods and are unable to achieve full academic potential. This is the root of the huge gender barrier that still exists in the society where women take a submissive role.
Menstrual Hygiene Management is one of the critical challenges that adolescent girls face. The lack of access to sanitary protection and towels disempowers girls, as they stay at home to avoid staining clothes. The cost of sanitary towels is beyond the reach of many women and girls.
By spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene management and initiating distribution of affordable and effective sanitary pads, we propose to reduce this gender-specific barrier and improve the quality of lives of girls and women.
We support environmentally sustainable products. Disposable pads are not only harmful for the environment but also for the body since the commercially available pads contain plastic. Plastic pads contain dioxins that are harmful for the highly permeable walls of the vagina. Even though plastic pads seem to be cheaper in the short run, in the longer run reusable pads prove to be the most economical option.
Reusable sanitary pads can be used for up to 18 months. That means we would not have to distribute sanitary pads every month which saves on distribution cost, time and money. These pads come in 2 sizes which proves to be effective for both day and night time. These pads can be easily washed and dried. They are antibacterial so are not required to be changed frequently, the day pad can be worn for up to 8 hours and night pad for 10 hours.
We have positively transformed the lives of women around the world by taking initiatives, covering aspects such as:
Some women were very happy to meet a gynaecologist for the very first time. They were taught about how they can maintain hygiene while working in farms. We encouraged them to live their lives confidently and tried to diminish the stigma around menstruation. They seemed to have been living in a world of myths and were very surprised to learn that what they had been taught by their families about menstruation was not true.
We thank Pavitrementhe, an exporter of organic products and essential oils and Dr. Bronner’s, offering cruelty and vegan soaps in Europe for their CSR initiative and giving us a chance to touch the lives of women in Bareilly. These women were extremely happy to receive a pack of reusable sanitary pads by ReliefPad and have given us positive feedback after using these pads.