Menstrual hygiene is something we still don’t talk about openly. Despite the growing need to talk about periods and menstrual hygiene, people turn the other way when it comes to actually talking about it. Add to that, the lack of education and platforms for women to speak up becomes more problematic. No one should be apologetic for it, especially not you. After all, menstruation is a natural bodily process and it’s your right to be hygienic.

There is a need for proper infrastructure and information campaigns around menstrual hygiene for women. There are so many campaigns in support of promoting menstrual hygiene happening all around the country and we are proud that they are picking up steam.

Here are some of the campaigns that have garnered a lot of attention in the past few years and are inspiring a whole new generation of women to take this movement forward.

• Not A Piece of Cloth by Goonj- This was an initiative by the founder of Goonj Foundation, Anshu Gupta. The organisation uses collected clothes from donors and then uses them to make bio-degradable sanitary pads for women in rural and remote areas who can’t afford regular hygienic alternatives.
• Azadi Organisation- The organisation was started by two men who wanted to make bio-degradable feminine hygiene products easily accessible to low-income women in rural areas. Their work also involves education campaigns and working with the local government to ensure schools and institutions are well equipped to handle women’s sanitary needs.
• Arunachalam Muruganantham AKA India’s Padman- Who can forget the contribution this man has made in the field of women’s sanitary health? His small enterprise that operates out a small room. He was named Time Magazine’s one of the 100 most influential people in 2014. He has helped change the social scene in rural India when it comes to sanitary napkins. He made them so affordable that other countries are now importing his machines and methods.
• Girls Glory by The Reaching Hand- Girls glory is an initiative undertaken to provide proper sanitation facilities and education to girls and boys on proper hygiene practices, removing menstrual taboos and more importantly explaining puberty and menstruation to girls so that they don’t feel that it’s something to be ashamed about.

It’s social campaigns like these that are creating platforms for women to feel more confident about menstruation and hygiene and speak up for themselves.