Have you ever tried having a chat about menstrual hygiene with your maid, sweeper or any destitute female? If not, trust me, you're in for a surprise. As working women who often harp about how troublesome our days can be during periods, know that using a sanitary napkin/tampon is a privilege for many.
In this bustling world of responsibilities and overwork,?Chinu Kwatra, a 27-year-old guy from Mumbai has taken it upon himself to help and educate tribal women about safe menstrual practices.?
Having been surrounded by women all his life, Chinu developed a curiosity about periods and how it was affecting all the women he knew. During his journey in getting to know about this natural occurrence, he realised it is, in fact, considered a taboo by many progressive thinkers. Therefore, in order to change that and help tribal women in Thane and Airoli who were far from availing any benefits, he started this journey.?
He opened his own NGO - Aarna foundation in 2014 where he began educating women and children of sex workers about menstrual hygiene management. His endeavour is not just the kind that helps these women but also the kind that helps the environment.?
During his journey, Chinu realized that regular sanitary pads take hundreds of years to decompose and that's when he decided to bring in cloth-based eco-friendly napkins.?
"I didn¡¯t want to introduce practices that would harm the environment in the long run. Thus, I first arranged compostable napkins, studied about ways to handle menstrual waste and then started my visits to tribal areas," says the environment lover, reports NDTV.?
Because of him, over 300 tribal women gave up on unsafe practices and opted for eco-friendly napkins for personal hygiene and environment.?
We need more champions like Chinu to get rid of the taboo around menstruation and make it safe and hygienic?for women around the world.