Actor Akshay Kumar is set to star in Padman, a movie on Arunanchalam Muruganantham, the school dropout from Coimbatore who invented low cost sanitary napkins to women in rural areas despite the taboo. In many parts of India, menstruation is still a taboo but a radio station is taking the initiative to break the ice. Girls from low socio-economic classes still shy away from talking about the subject and some even refer to it as a ‘problem’.
To spread awareness amongst these girls, Red FM in Kolkata has installed sanitary napkin vending machines in 52 Government run schools. This is part of the CSR initiative spread over 3 weeks which includes a radio campaign called ‘Pad Habit’ and RJs of the radio station are visiting these schools and educating these girls about the benefits of the using sanitary napkins. Says RJ Praveen of Red FM, “When we talk about women empowerment, this is a stepping stone. From day one I was confident about this campaign and I knew we would earn a lot of respect. If I was shy from the beginning, then I don't think it would have been possible to walk into these schools and talk to these girls.”
The radio station decided to go ahead with this initiative which costed then to Rs.20,000 after reading an article which said only 12% girls in India use sanitary pads. After class 8, many girls drop out from school due to sanitation problems which is a concern. These initiatives are a step towards spreading more awareness on menstruation and hygiene. While the girls in these Government schools are welcoming the idea, it is still a tough task to change mindsets in their households.
However, the step to install these machines at schools enables girls to avail three sanitary pads at a cost of Rs.10. Sanchita Bhattacharya, a class 10 student of Netaji Nagar Balika Vidyalaya says, “This will be good for us when we have a problem.” Like Sanchita, many of her classmates are thankful these vending machines have been installed.
Seed Foundation, an NGO which helped in locating 52 schools in Kolkata for this initiative has involved 26 self help groups in Raichak in the outskirts of Kolkata to make these low cost sanitary napkins. The initiative will be taken forward even after the CSR campaign by the radio station comes to an end. “We targeted Government schools as there is a need for these vending machines. We spoke to headmistresses in various schools who were initially reluctant, but later agreed to this idea,” says Somnath Bhattacharya, Director Seed Foundation.
The challenge now is to see this initiative is taken forward in a manner that will continue to help girls in these schools.
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