Sanitary Napkin PadBank: Here’s How Some Women Are Pushing The Menstrual Hygiene Cause. Banega Swachh India, March 7, 2018.
From an MLA initiating India’s first sanitary PadBank to a 16-year-old coming forward to help the girls of her age, PadBanks being run by different women are emerging to be an important mechanism to provide sanitary napkins to women without means. Here are five such PadBanks
Move over PadMan, PadBanks are now what many are adopting to reach out to women with no access or awareness about menstrual hygiene. These PadBanks retain the basic functionality of a bank, but instead of money these dispense sanitary pad, either from free or charge a discounted rate.
While some women are providing sanitary napkins at a cheaper rate, others are breaking the myths and taboos associated with menstruation by making people aware. These women are not only challenging the societal norms, but have also made it their mission to raise the level of menstrual hygiene in India.
In India, 88 per cent of menstruating women do not use sanitary napkins. Be it ignorance or lack of affordability, the fact is that majority of women in India rely on unhygienic alternatives during periods.
In a bid to change this reality, women in India are providing sanitary napkins to less fortunate women and girls.
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