Sanitary napkins are the last wall of modern women’s dignity.Jamaica Sanitary napkin machinery
I have to admit that the Indian films of the past few years do feel different from before.
Simple, unpretentious and focused on the common people.
One of the films that impressed me the most was a 18-year-old film called “Partners in India”.
Of course, I prefer his other name – “The Padman”
Pad is a word that is rarely used in spoken language.
But pads are not uncommon in life, generally speaking, we call them:
sanitary napkin
And the theme of the film is indeed related to sanitary napkins.
The story is caused by the advent of a menstrual period. The wife of the male protagonist Lakshmi has her period, but the male protagonist is at a loss.
He did not understand what menstruation was.
Because in traditional Indian concepts, women’s menstruation has always been considered a taboo that should not be mentioned.
As a result, the gauze used by his wife to deal with menstruation has been dirty and unsightly.
And the male protagonist bought a pack of sanitary pads for his wife.
This is very expensive in India, so even though the wife is very happy, she still asks the male owner to return the package of sanitary pads.
The male protagonist understands that sanitary napkins are expensive, but for the sake of his wife, he began to try to make them himself.
This is not easy. On the one hand, the sanitary napkins hand-made by the male protagonist are difficult to ensure cleanliness, and they are not even as good as the old rags.
On the other hand, in India, sanitary napkins are regarded as monstrous beasts, and even considered ominous, which will bring disaster to people.
Therefore, in the process of making sanitary napkins, it is extremely difficult for the male protagonist to obtain feedback from users, which makes him only make simple devices to experience.
This is not understood by everyone.
Neighbors laughed at him, his family was ashamed of him, and even his beloved wife wanted to divorce him.
He didn’t give up. He went to the university, visited many professors, learned English, learned to search, and learned to communicate with foreigners.
The hard work pays off, and relying on his own ingenuity, he finally built a machine that produces pads that are only 10% of the price in the past.
The movie isn’t complicated, but what’s shocking is that it’s based on true events.
Arunachalam Muruganantham is the prototype of the male protagonist in the film.
Arunacharam Muruganantham
After the successful development of his machine, he refused to apply for a patent and drove up the price. I just hope more women can afford sanitary pads.
He published all the information on the website, opened all licenses, and now more than 110 countries and regions have begun to introduce his new machines, including Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
The high-quality and affordable sanitary napkins made by Arunacharam have not only benefited countless women, but also changed the history of hygiene throughout India, making menstruation no longer a taboo topic in society.
Therefore, he is also known as the “father of sanitary napkins” in India.
Arunacharam Muruganantham with his simple sanitary napkin maker
Although the name “Padman” is indeed a bit strange, it is not just a simple sanitary napkin.
This has brought convenience, healthy living habits, and female dignity to Indian women.
So, why can’t people who make pads be called chivalrous?
In India, only 12% of women can afford sanitary pads, and the rest can only use old cloths, or even leaves, furnace soot to cope with their menstrual period, so many women will have different diseases.
It sounds like India is pitiful, but in fact these things are not far from us.
In fact, sanitary napkins with adhesive strips in the modern sense were only mass-produced in the 1970s.
Blue Adhesive Sanitary Pads from 1971
It was not until 1982 that sanitary napkins began to enter China.
Due to the relatively expensive price at the time, sanitary napkins were really used by Chinese women in large quantities until the mid-to-late 1990s.
Earlier, Chinese women used more sanitary belts.
Sanitary belt without rubber backing
In order to facilitate cleaning, the backing material of the late sanitary belt was changed to rubber.
When using it, you need to put toilet paper. Some girls from poor families can’t even use toilet paper. They can only use straw paper, or even grass ash and other absorbent items to put them in the sanitary belt to solve the menstrual problem.
It is not breathable, and movement is affected, not to mention the difficulty of cleaning the sanitary belt itself.
In short, very inconvenient.
But it was the most effective menstrual treatment of that era.
In this era, we have become accustomed to lighter and more convenient sanitary napkins;
But there is no doubt that sanitary napkins are a great invention.
Menstruation is a normal physiological feature and should not be burdened with a burden that does not belong to it.
All women are entitled to a more hygienic and decent life.
Menarche generally begins at the age of 12, and the average age of amenorrhea is 50.
The average cycle is 28 days, while the menstrual cycle generally lasts 4-7 days.
If averaged, use 5 days to calculate.
In 12 months a year, women have a period for nearly 2 months.
And it is the emergence of sanitary napkins that modern women can go through this cycle more decently and dignifiedly.
Sadly, there are still many people who don’t understand the importance of sanitary napkins to women.
Many people don’t know that toilet paper is too absorbent, doesn’t seal well, and may have debris left behind to replace sanitary napkins.
Many people do not know that when a woman is menstruating, menstrual flow is completely a natural reaction of the body, and it is difficult to subjectively control it.
Many people don’t know that because menstruation is difficult to control, sanitary napkins are actually long-term and large-scale consumables, and a sanitary napkin can only be used for 2 hours.
Many people do not know that the menstrual cycle is not fixed, and it is extremely common to have a few days before and after.
Many people do not know that menstrual blood flows from the uterus during menstruation, and if it is handled with unhygienic measures, there is a great risk of infection.
There are many things that many people don’t know, many, many…
But I hope everyone can know:
There is no shame in women’s dignified pursuit of a more hygienic and decent life.
It’s shameful to ignore women’s needs and stigmatize normal menstrual cycles.
To end with a quote from the movie “The Padman”:
“The powerful, the strong do not make the country strong.
Strong women, strong mothers, and strong sisters make a country strong. ”
Post time: Aug-05-2022