Pad Man: How Bollywood is challenging period stigma in India
6 years, 8 months ago

Pad Man: How Bollywood is challenging period stigma in India

The Independent  

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The new Bollywood film Pad Man, starring Akshay Kumar, is the story of how India’s “menstrual man” Arunachalam Muruganantham came up with a revolutionary new method of producing cost-effective sanitary pads. It’s been more than 10 years since Muruganantham invented a machine to create low-cost sanitary pads and began distributing them to rural women across India. This is not just an issue for India: one in 10 girls in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa miss school because of their periods and even in the UK period poverty causes similar issues. open image in gallery Arunachalam Muruganantham created low-cost sanitary pads that transformed menstrual health in India and beyond The wider issue that Pad Man highlights is the stigma and taboos that surround menstruation.

India Women Nepal Girls Stigma Period Cent Living Well Sanitary Pads Menstrual Rural Women Menstruation Pad Man Muruganantham  bollywood  sanitary  cent  period  india  pad  man  women  stigma  pads  menstruation  challenging  menstrual  girls

History of this topic

Distribution of reusable menstrual pads launched at KGBV
1 month ago

Distribution of reusable menstrual pads launched at KGBV

The Hindu  

Toyotsu Rare Earths India Limited, in collaboration with Rural Development Welfare Society, launched reusable menstrual sanitary pads, as part of its CSR initiative, to promote menstrual health and hygiene among adolescent girls at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya at Rambilli, in Anakapalli district, on Tuesday. B. Muralidhar Rao, Associate Vice President – HR, Toyotsu Rare Earths India Limited, unveiled a specially …

Menstrual Hygiene Day: India! Whisper no more, stay free from period taboos
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Menstrual Hygiene Day: India! Whisper no more, stay free from period taboos

Firstpost  

Respect for India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ rings hollow if we celebrate their triumphs in breaking glass ceilings while remaining silent on menstruation and hiding sanitary napkins in shame Balalakshmi encountered an ongoing struggle with persistent vaginal irritations and infections. Access to clean water, sanitary products and education on menstrual health are fundamental rights that empower women to maintain hygiene, prevent infections …

Menstrual health is a public health issue
1 year, 9 months ago

Menstrual health is a public health issue

The Hindu  

In a recent incident, a man from a city in Maharashtra allegedly killed his 12-year-old sister because he mistook period stains on her clothes as a sign of a sexual relationship. In urban India, girls and women navigate a good part of their life in the public domain — a young working woman travels for hours by public transport, a …

Explained | Menstrual hygiene facilities in Indian schools
1 year, 11 months ago

Explained | Menstrual hygiene facilities in Indian schools

The Hindu  

The story so far: The Supreme Court on April 10 directed the Union Government to devise a uniform policy to ensure menstrual hygiene for school children. Absence of menstrual hygiene and awareness drives “period poverty” — or the lack of access to sanitary products, toilets, waste management, handwashing facilities and menstrual hygiene education — globally. The “Menstrual Hygiene Scheme” provides …

5 Years of Akshay Kumar's Pad Man: A film that changed mindsets about that time of the month
2 years, 1 month ago

5 Years of Akshay Kumar's Pad Man: A film that changed mindsets about that time of the month

Firstpost  

Pad Man has two heroes. It was also a victory for Arunachalam Muruganantham on whose life the film Pad Man was based, and who has dedicated his life to female hygiene and its subversion for economic reasons. It’s the way Akshay Kumar plays Laxmikant, a man driven to insane bouts of audacity by the passion to diminish the pain that …

MP man turns 'padman', promotes menstrual hygiene
5 years, 4 months ago

MP man turns 'padman', promotes menstrual hygiene

India TV News  

Inspired by Akshay Kumar- starrer 'Padman', a 37-year-old resident of Khor village here set up a sanitary pad manufacturing unit, employing 15 women from the area. In a bid to educate women in his village about menstrual hygiene and provide cheap sanitary pads, Bhupendra Khoiwal set up a manufacturing unit in Khor village, 15 km from the district headquarters in …

Villager turns ‘padman’, promotes menstrual hygiene in Madhya Pradesh
5 years, 4 months ago

Villager turns ‘padman’, promotes menstrual hygiene in Madhya Pradesh

The Hindu  

Inspired by Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman, a 37-year-old resident of Khor village here set up a sanitary pad manufacturing unit, employing 15 women from the area. In a bid to educate women in his village about menstrual hygiene and provide cheap sanitary pads, Bhupendra Khoiwal set up a manufacturing unit in Khor village, 15 km from the district headquarters in Madhya …

Arunachalam Muruganantham on Period. End of Sentence's Oscar win: Subject of menstrual hygiene had reached global audience
6 years, 1 month ago

Arunachalam Muruganantham on Period. End of Sentence's Oscar win: Subject of menstrual hygiene had reached global audience

Firstpost  

End of Sentence is based on women of Hapur who learned to manufacture sanitary pads with Arunachalam Muruganantham’s manufacturing machine. End of Sentence, a film on menstruation set in rural India, won in the Documentary Short Subject category at the 91st Academy Awards. The documentary features the work of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur who has been working towards breaking …

2019 Oscar Nominations: India-set film around menstruation 'Period. End of Sentence' lands 91st Academy awards nomination
6 years, 2 months ago

2019 Oscar Nominations: India-set film around menstruation 'Period. End of Sentence' lands 91st Academy awards nomination

ABP News  

End of Sentence", an India set film on the taboos around menstruation and featuring the real 'Pad Man', has made it to the Oscar nomination, it was announced here on Tuesday. The film is executive produced by Guneet Monga and is co-produced by Monga's Sikhya Entertainment, which has backed films like "The Lunchbox" and "Masaan".Ecstatic about making the cut, Monga …

Stree Swabhiman initiative's manual machine-spun pads could herald a sanitary napkin revolution in India
6 years, 7 months ago

Stree Swabhiman initiative's manual machine-spun pads could herald a sanitary napkin revolution in India

Firstpost  

“Gandhi ji chakha chala kar kapda banate they, hum charkha chala kar kapda hata denge. “The sanitary napkins are made from raw materials that are cheap and organic and the post-production cost is Rs 2.50 per pack,” said Mukesh Kumar, who runs the CSC in Ludhiana. “Unlike older schemes that roped in Asha and Anganwadi workers to distribute napkins, this …

Need to break culture of silence around menstruation
6 years, 9 months ago

Need to break culture of silence around menstruation

The Quint  

Kolkata May 29 There is a need to break the culture of silence around menstruation as the start of the cycle actually empowers women as they know they now have the power to procreate, speakers said at a awareness campaign here on Monday. The campaign 'let us talk about Periods', organised by the UNICEF on the occasion of World Menstrual …

Is India suffering from ‘period poverty’?
6 years, 9 months ago

Is India suffering from ‘period poverty’?

The Hindu  

A new report published by UNICEF and WaterAid found that more than a third of girls in South Asia miss school during their periods, mainly due to lack of access to toilets and pads in schools and no proper education about menstruation. ‘Period poverty’ is the term used when there is a lack of sanitary products, and other essentials like …

Is menstrual hygiene the new #SwachhBharat?
6 years, 10 months ago

Is menstrual hygiene the new #SwachhBharat?

Live Mint  

Mumbai: If the first two years of the NDA government were all about its flagship Swachh Bharat programme, the focus seems to have shifted in recent months toward menstrual hygiene management. In the lead-up to World Menstrual Awareness Day on 28 May, minister of electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted a photo of himself on 20 May at …

Akshay Kumar: Every husband, father, brother and son should understand the need of menstrual hygiene
6 years, 10 months ago

Akshay Kumar: Every husband, father, brother and son should understand the need of menstrual hygiene

India TV News  

Actor Akshay Kumar says men should understand the need of menstrual hygiene for the women in their lives. Akshay also featured in Pad Man, which tells a story of social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham's journey to make affordable sanitary napkins. It is a story of how one man came up with a revolutionary method of producing cost effective sanitary napkins and …

PadMan: This is how Aarav reacted after watching father Akshay Kumar’s film
7 years, 1 month ago

PadMan: This is how Aarav reacted after watching father Akshay Kumar’s film

India TV News  

Akshay Kumar is currently basking in the success of his recent release PadMan. Akshay’s film, which is based on an educative subject menstrual hygiene, made a total collection of Rs 71.90 crore till Monday. In the film, Akshay has essayed the role of an entrepreneur Arunachalam, who discovered a way of making low-cost sanitary pads especially for the women in …

Akshay Kumar installs sanitary pad vending machines at Mumbai's Central Bus Station
7 years, 1 month ago

Akshay Kumar installs sanitary pad vending machines at Mumbai's Central Bus Station

India Today  

National Award-winning actor Akshay Kumar has installed a sanitary pad vending machine in Mumbai Central ST Bus Depot and hopes to put several across India. Akshay, whose latest release, Pad Man, delves with menstrual issue and hygiene, especially in rural India, took to Twitter on Thirsday to share a photograph of him along with Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray inaugurating …

Special screening of 'Pad Man' for Malala Yousafzai
7 years, 1 month ago

Special screening of 'Pad Man' for Malala Yousafzai

New Indian Express  

MUMBAI: Malala Yousafzai had expressed her solidarity with the message of menstrual hygiene in R. Balkis latest directorial "Pad Man". For Balki, "Pad Man", which ia about the man who invented the economical sanitary pad, is a leap into the unknown that he was initially reluctant to take. "I don't like making films about people who exist specially those who …

Pad Man success is proof that Indian audience is opening up to taboo topics like menstruation
7 years, 1 month ago

Pad Man success is proof that Indian audience is opening up to taboo topics like menstruation

India Today  

For many generations, menstruation has been a topic that has been talked about only in hush-hush voices. And who could have ever thought that a taboo topic like menstruation would make it to the big screen; let alone Bollywood's Khiladi Kumar playing the lead! Within four days of its release, Pad Man has already earned Rs 45 crore, and is …

Girls were collecting pads from dustbins, that inspired us, says Gujarat's 'Pad couple'
7 years, 1 month ago

Girls were collecting pads from dustbins, that inspired us, says Gujarat's 'Pad couple'

India Today  

Meena and Atul Mehta, a couple well-known as the 'Pad couple' in Gujarat have attained the name after they saw something that changed their lives. Meena, who runs Manuni organisation in Surat along with her husband, distributes sanitary pads to women and girls who do not have enough money or accessibility to reach this item of necessity. There are many …

Akshay Kumar's Pad Man banned in Pakistan? Twitter erupts in anger
7 years, 1 month ago

Akshay Kumar's Pad Man banned in Pakistan? Twitter erupts in anger

India Today  

As reports began doing the rounds that Pad Man will not be released in Pakistan, citizens of the country took to Twitter to express their disappointment. The Federal Censor Board and the Punjab Film Censor Board have refused to certify the Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte-starrer, saying that it is based on a "taboo subject". https://t.co/S7PUfBV9ak Gharidah Farooqi …

PadMan movie review: Akshay Kumar's well-padded ego trip
7 years, 1 month ago

PadMan movie review: Akshay Kumar's well-padded ego trip

Deccan Chronicle  

Director: R. Balki Cast: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, Sonam Kapoor Sanctimonious moral indignation that arrives with a genial, gummy smile but is then unleashed with deeply earnest words is a deadly package. Though based on the life, work, struggles and triumphs of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a simple but singular man from Coimbatore, Pad Man doesn’t do him the courtesy of calling …

‘Pad Man’ review: Public service cinema
7 years, 1 month ago

‘Pad Man’ review: Public service cinema

The Hindu  

Arunachalam Muruganantham is a fascinating man. Pad Man Director: R. Balki Cast: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, Sonam Kapoor Run time: 139.59 minutes Storyline: Based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who, prompted by his wife’s period problems, initiated the production of affordable sanitary napkins for the poor There is a certain dignity and forthrightness with which Muruganantham talks about dropping …

Pad Man Movie Review: Akshay Kumar breathes as Muruganantham in this fabulous film
7 years, 1 month ago

Pad Man Movie Review: Akshay Kumar breathes as Muruganantham in this fabulous film

India Today  

Pad Man, the biopic of India's Menstrual Man Arunachalam Muruganantham, starring Akshay Kumar in the lead role, is the big Bollywood release today. Pad Man, the biopic of Arunachalam Muruganantham, has Akshay Kumar playing Lakshmikant Chauhan, the mad genius who left his village after being ostracised, just so that his wife could wear the more hygienic sanitary pads instead of …

Pad Man: The first Bollywood film to tackle menstruation
7 years, 1 month ago

Pad Man: The first Bollywood film to tackle menstruation

The Independent  

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Dubbed the world’s first feature film on menstruation, Pad Man, released on 9 February, is …

R Balki: Akshay is a lot like Arunachalam Muruganantham. He doesn't give himself much credit
7 years, 1 month ago

R Balki: Akshay is a lot like Arunachalam Muruganantham. He doesn't give himself much credit

India Today  

In an interview with India Today, filmmaker R Balki talks about meeting Arunachalam Muruganantham, the real Pad Man, working with Akshay Kumar and how his fifth film, his first biopic, can raise awareness about menstrual hygiene and be an inspiring story. I had seen Arunachalam Muruganantham's TED Talk and other videos before Twinkle and Akshay asked me to do it. …

Why Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor's Pad Man Challenge is problematic
7 years, 1 month ago

Why Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor's Pad Man Challenge is problematic

India Today  

Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor-starrer Pad Man releases this week, and before the film hits the theatres, its promotional campaign is going viral. If you are on Twitter or Instagram, you cannot have missed the gazillion pictures of celebrities posing with a sanitary pad as part of the Pad Man challenge. Surely, the majority of the people who need to …

Akshay Kumar on PadMan: Earlier, I didn't have enough money to support socially relevant cinema
7 years, 1 month ago

Akshay Kumar on PadMan: Earlier, I didn't have enough money to support socially relevant cinema

India TV News  

Akshay Kumar is proud of his coming film Pad Man -- a film highlighting awareness on menstrual hygiene. The actor also added that there isn't a single commercial film on sanitary pads, not even in Hollywood, as people shy away from discussing the topic in public. Akshay's Pad Man -- which marks his wife Twinkle Khanna's maiden production venture -- …

Muruganantham's story: Meet the real Padman
7 years, 1 month ago

Muruganantham's story: Meet the real Padman

The Hindu  

A Muruganantham’s life is a haze of interviews to newspapers, TV channels and radio stations. Now a feature film Pad Man, directed by R Balki, featuring Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, and Sonam Kapoor, presents Muruganantham’s journey from a school drop-out to a social entrepreneur. “It does have ‘masala’ elements, being a Bollywood film,” says Muruganantham. “ Pad Man is the …

What is 'Pad Man Challenge', why are celebrities posing with sanitary pads?
7 years, 1 month ago

What is 'Pad Man Challenge', why are celebrities posing with sanitary pads?

India TV News  

Actor Akshay Kumar is undoubtedly one of the finest actors of Bollywood. From raising awareness about Swachh Baharat Abhiyan with Toilet: Ek Prem Katha to talking about menstrual hygiene in his upcoming film Pad Man, the actor is addressing issues that are considered taboo in the society. As Pad Man is all set to hit the screens on February 9, …

Women should get sanitary napkins for free, says Padman actor Akshay Kumar
7 years, 2 months ago

Women should get sanitary napkins for free, says Padman actor Akshay Kumar

India TV News  

National Award-winning actor Akshay Kumar, who is going to appear in R Balki’s Padman is addressing the issue of menstrual hygiene this time. Asked if the "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha" actor wants to reach out to the government to cut down on GST rate of sanitary napkins, Akshay told media here on Thursday: "Why just cut down on GST? "It …

Akshay Kumar on Padman: Our aim is to create awareness with the film, not earn money
7 years, 3 months ago

Akshay Kumar on Padman: Our aim is to create awareness with the film, not earn money

Firstpost  

Akshay Kumar has been doing films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Padman, focusing on social issues, and he said it is a deliberate move to be associated with such kind of cinema. Mumbai: Actor Akshay Kumar today said with Padman, about a man who develops a low cost sanitary pads, they are trying to reach out to a wider …

Padman star Sonam Kapoor finds ignorance towards menstrual hygiene baffling
7 years, 3 months ago

Padman star Sonam Kapoor finds ignorance towards menstrual hygiene baffling

Firstpost  

Mumbai: Sonam Kapoor feels people’s regressive thinking and ignorance towards menstrual hygiene is baffling. The actor will next be seen in Akshay Kumar’s Padman, inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social activist who revolutionised the concept of menstrual hygiene in rural India by creating a low-cost sanitary napkin machine. “Menstrual hygiene is an issue, which not …

Menstruation is having its pop-culture moment thanks to movies and books, but can India move past celebrating it?
7 years, 9 months ago

Menstruation is having its pop-culture moment thanks to movies and books, but can India move past celebrating it?

Firstpost  

Last year, students at Calicut Medical College launched a contest to encourage each other to submit haikus about periods, after an intern threw out an open challenge to see if anyone would dare to walk around with an unwrapped packet of sanitary pads. Meanwhile, singer Sofia Ashraf’s new Tamil song ‘Period Paatu’, which released last month went mega viral. By …

Radhika Hopes ‘Pad Man’ Will Get India Talking About Sexuality
8 years ago

Radhika Hopes ‘Pad Man’ Will Get India Talking About Sexuality

The Quint  

Filmmaker R. Balki has picked the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham to narrate through Pad Man, with actors Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in the lead roles. Pad Man will chronicle how Muruganantham set out on a mission to make affordable sanitary napkins, after seeing his wife's ordeal and poor menstrual hygiene, because of which she was shunned by …

Radhika Apte says India is afraid of sexuality, physicality; talks about upcoming film 'Pad Man'
8 years ago

Radhika Apte says India is afraid of sexuality, physicality; talks about upcoming film 'Pad Man'

Firstpost  

New Delhi: Actress Radhika Apte, who has often been under the scanner for her “bold” approach in her films, says anything remotely associated with human body can turn out to be a problem in India — a country that is “very ashamed of sexuality and physicality”. Menstruation also finds a spot on the list, and Radhika is happy that the …

Sustainable Menstruation: Junking the sanitary napkin
8 years, 7 months ago

Sustainable Menstruation: Junking the sanitary napkin

The Hindu  

Remember the popular sanitary napkin There is an alternative to a future where used napkins are piled up in street corners — sustainable menstruation. A Facebook community called ‘Sustainable Menstruation India’, which has 10,000 members and adds more every day, encourages women to adopt eco-friendly methods like reusable cloth pads and menstrual cups. “Anyone I know who has used menstrual …

VIDEO: After watching this you will never feel ashamed of being a 'Girl on periods'
10 years, 4 months ago

VIDEO: After watching this you will never feel ashamed of being a 'Girl on periods'

India TV News  

Do you feel embarrassed when you buy sanitary napkins? Getting barred from worshipping, visiting temples, involving in festivities, not using others bed or sofa, not eating pickle etc are a common phenomenon for girls living in rural as well as urban areas. Moreover, using sanitary napkins is also not acceptable in a wide section of Indian society due to the …

Why menstruation is a nightmare for many women in India
10 years, 9 months ago

Why menstruation is a nightmare for many women in India

Firstpost  

Not just health, but lack of menstrual hygiene management takes its toll on the education of young girls. We find a corner in the house, where the others can’t see, and then dry them.” Thus begins the plight of the Rohingya women in New Delhi where even a glimmer of sunlight to dry their sanitary cloths is difficult to find, …

The 'Tampon King' who sparked a period of change for India's women
12 years, 8 months ago

The 'Tampon King' who sparked a period of change for India's women

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. "Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa – I am talking with …

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