Even in today’s world of the 21st century, there are several places where women do not have recourse to proper health and hygiene. In countries where rural poverty is a huge issue and malnourishment is killing thousands, young girls reaching puberty can hardly get the privilege of modern sanitary products, a basic standard item in the west.
Fortunately, there are men too involved in heroic efforts that can make a change in this scenario. Men like an Indian entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham who invented the machine that can produce low-cost sanitary napkins in hopes that the device could be made available in 70 developing countries. Today a Bollywood movie has been made based on his efforts to address menstruation poverty in India and scheduled for release tomorrow the 9th Feb. This is the original PAD MAN.
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Arunachalam Muruganantham was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award in 2016 for his incredible machine that produced low-cost sanitary napkins. Today his invention is being used in 29 states of India and plans are on to make the same available in 106 nations. Once the news of his invention was highlighted in the media, TIME magazine even placed him on the list of 100 most influential people in the world.
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Throughout rural India, menstruation is somewhat a taboo subject. In many parts of the country, a girl’s life will shut down for a week during which she cannot even partake in family prayers. Family activities are also restricted such as cooking and coming into contact with water supplies.
Coupled with the high cost of sanitary napkins which the Indian government considers a luxury item that invites a 12% tax, this makes a common item of female hygiene out of reach. Unhygienic alternatives such as old clothes made into rags are used. As astonishing as it may sound it isn’t uncommon for some to use newspapers and even leaves.
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Muruganantham who hails from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India is one of the few stalwarts who used his invention to highlight and generate awareness about unhealthy menstruation practices in rural India. As a school dropout, he was adamant in resolving the sanitary napkin issue after observing his wife use newspapers and rags for sanitary purposes.
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It took Muruganantham seven years of trial and error to get his invention right. He even wore a sanitary napkin produced by his machine to get instant feedback on the product. He ultimately tested the pads himself using a punctured a soccer bladder filled with goat’s blood. The machine which cost Rs 65,000 INR was a revolution in women’s health and is now sold in 23 of 29 states in India through his NGO Jayshree Industries.
Consider the fact that an imported machine to make sanitary napkins costs approximately 35 million INR in India. Today his invention is also being used in 17 developing countries including states in Africa for making low-cost sanitary napkins for women.
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Muruganantham’s machine uses a weaving technique using pinewood pulp that grinds de fibrates and sterilizes the pads using ultraviolet before packaging them ready for sale. The method is based on the usual process of producing sanitary napkins but through low-cost techniques.
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Muruganantham hopes that ultimately all women in India will use sanitary napkins rather than resort to unhealthy materials. "All these women are still using old grandmother methods to manage the monthly period, which is dangerous to their health, some of these women also use sawdust and tree leaves," said Muruganantham while addressing an IMPACT conference in 2014.
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Today Muruganantham is an international speaker for generating awareness on women’s sanitary health in developing countries. He has also given TED talks on the subject. During one of his speeches, he was applauded by all the delegates present who included business magnates and corporate majors for his incredible marketing efforts without professional marketing mechanism in place.
Muruganantham hopes that his invention to produce low-cost sanitary napkins will also generate employment for 1 million poor women in India by involving them in the process. He has not commercialized his invention and ensures it is made available to NGO’s run by women.
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Muruganantham could not conceive how phenomenal the reaction would be to his invention. Now an Indian filmmaker R.Balki and former star actress Twinkle Khanna, (the daughter of late Rajesh Khanna and Bollywood star Dimple Kapadia) have got together to portray the man in a Bollywood movie titled Pad Man.
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The movie has been inspired by Muruganantham’s incredible journey to eliminate unhygienic practices related to menstruation and introduce affordability of sanitary napkins. The movie is scheduled for release tomorrow the 9th Feb 2018. Said Khanna “If nothing else, I’m hoping that it starts a conversation that so far has been cloaked in shame and taboo.”
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The short story has been written by Twinkle Khanna who is also a popular writer and columnist. The movie has been made in the genre of comedy-drama and will be the world’s first feature film to address the subject of poverty related to menstruation in developing countries. It is a problem that reaches far beyond India.
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The main character of Pad Man is played by Bollywood celebrity star Akshay Kumar who is also Twinkle Khanna’s husband. Kumar 50 is an established Bollywood star in his own right having several hit movies in his name.
Kumar says, “People have started talking on social media, especially men. It’s actually made them a little nervous but intrigued also, Even if three people watch it, the movie will be a huge success. Pad Man will show every man what should be done — for their mothers, their daughters, their aunts,”
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Kumar reveals a situation during filming when directors recruited extras as is the norm in Hindi movies. They were made to hold pads in their hands but one man refused and ran away but not before saying I’m not going to hold a sin in my hand.”
This perhaps sums up the mood of mindset in rural India but much is being done to educate people on such issues and hopefully, the movie may inspire a change of heart. As producer Balki says “The film is just a drop in the ocean in the amount of work that has to be done. Any little bit is only going to help the cause.”
Watch the trailer of Pad Man and hopefully if you are in India, then be sure to see it and make it a success.