The Pad Community
India is a country where there is a serious concern to hygiene and
self-cleanliness, and when it comes to rural area or for the poor
households this hygiene goes to its lowest state. I belong to Ranchi,
Jharkhand and in 2018 I unwillingly by friend’s insistence joined a
group called ‘The Pad Community’.
Wonder what this ‘Pad Community’ is. There was a group meeting
for the new joiners week later I joined the community, there they
told what their vision is, and I being from a family where women’s
hide their personal problems from a men became very
uncomfortable to listen to the community’s view.
The Leader ‘Bhawan Sen’, a really beautiful and charming lady told
us, ‘You people are really Nobel, because you have come forward for
a Nobel cause. We care for humans and women are human too. Our
society consider Mensuration as a taboo and this has caused women
to hide their monthly problem, their pain and a need to keep
themselves clean. And the situation is worst in rural and sub-urban
areas, where woman uses cotton cloth as menstrual pad and do not
change it for days.’
Listening to the community’s aim first I was very shy as how can men
ask women about their menstrual problem, it’s a job for a lady. But
the leader’s statement ‘Women’s are human too’, made me
uncomfortable days and nights, and this changed my entire life. I
took a bold decision to take part in the community’s drive and visited
a sub-urban area outside of Ranchi, believe me the condition there
for women was inhuman, we surveyed women from age as less as 12
to elderly women of 35-40 years and they were all same, uncleaned
and following a unhygienic way to deal with their menstrual days.
Many of the girls reported a severe genital problem, rashes around
vagina and thighs and even some reported bacterial and fungal
infection on their lower abdominal region. I was just shocked, that
oh my god how can these girl compromise with their personal
hygiene. But the game was something different.
Classification: Public
The elderly lady explained us that in their region and their religion
when a woman has menstruation then the women is considered as
unsure, no body touches them, they are not allowed to use public
bathrooms, nor enter in any sacred place. But this. Not the end, in
their own house also they are discriminated too,
the women during these days are not allowed to enter to the
kitchen. These all factors make women to hide their menstrual
problems and even discourage them to purchase pads for their
periods.
Our group understood the problem well, knowing the main reason is
not the unavailability of pads but the awareness and education. So,
we called a meeting in the local panchayat, all elderly men and
women were invited. Our leader talked about the periods, it’s
necessity for women, about the beliefs that it makes women unsure
and the necessity to wear pads during these days. And to my surprise
the group have come to this area several times, conducted seminars
and meetings and distributed pads among women’s.
After a long journey from 2018-2022 I visited many villages and rural
areas and spread awareness and distributed pads, this helped not
only the women’s but myself too, who considered periods as
something very private to a woman and a not a matter to be talked
or discussed about among men.
Our journey and hardworking made a lot of difference, today we are
known by the ‘The Pad Community’ in various regions around
Ranchi. People see us with respect and above it we see our work as a
Nobel because which saved too many precious lives and given them
a chance to live a clean and hygienic life.
-Sadique Akhtar
Classification: Public