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19:16, 13-Jan-2017
Padman: Bollywood takes on India’s ‘menstrual man’
Updated
10:34, 28-Jun-2018
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Arunachalam Muruganantham is known as India’s “menstrual man.”
Muruganantham, who is from South India, has gained a reputation for making low-cost sanitary napkins.
Topics surrounding menstruation are still a taboo in India, and women still resort to unhygienic practices in remote parts of the country.
CFP Photo
CFP Photo
Only 12 percent of the 355 million women of reproductive age can afford sanitary napkins in India, according to a survey by AC Nielsen/Plan India.
Muruganantham decided to take a stand and make a difference after he saw his wife using cloth during her periods.
Arunachalam Muruganantham, Time 100 gala, New York, on April 29, 2014/ CFP Photo
Arunachalam Muruganantham, Time 100 gala, New York, on April 29, 2014/ CFP Photo
His innovation today has helped thousands of women. Muruganantham was also declared TIME magazine’s “most influential person” in 2014 and recently awarded India’s highest civilian award, Padam Shri, for his contributions.