She Promotes Science Of Menstruation, Youngest Indian To Win Queen¡¯s Leadership Award
The 28-year old received this award in the year 2018 for her initiative called Red is the new Green, also referred to as the RING.
Menstruation -- even though it's the most natural process is considered something not less than a taboo. Most women and men in India refrain from talking about it -- not just in rural India but also the urban, developed parts of the country.
Reuters
Even with commercially successful Bollywood movies like Padman spreading awareness about menstruation and how important role feminine hygiene products play, it is still looked through the perspective of a taboo.
Need for knowledge of feminine hygiene practices
In rural areas, most women don¡¯t even know sanitary pads exist. They use conventional methods of dealing with menstruation and often that can cause severe infections due to improper hygiene.
Not having proper guidance and knowledge about menstruation and feminine hygiene products can lead to several health issues in future, including vaginal infections, urinary tract infections and complications in pregnancy in future.
The Queen Young Leaders
But that doesn¡¯t mean people have given up. They¡¯re still striving every day to make people aware and help India cast away this orthodox thinking. And one such individual is Deane De Menezes, who is the youngest Indian recipient of the Queen Elizabeth¡¯s Leadership Award.
Red is the new green
The 28-year old Deane De Menezes received this award in the year 2018 for her initiative called Red is the new Green, also referred to as the RING. Deane saw how women in rural areas didn¡¯t have access to sanitary pads and other basic sanitary essentials. She quit her corporate job as a research analyst to help the women in need with her initiative.
Red Is The New Green
Eliminating taboos surrounding menstruation
Her non-profit organization tries to eliminate the taboo surrounding menstruation, by discussing it openly with people as well as spreading awareness to help women safeguard themselves from infections and other complications that could arise from not adhering to proper hygiene and care. They¡¯ve conducted drives in schools, villages, and urban slums -- wherever they feel imparting knowledge is essential.
Red Is The New Green
For women who haven¡¯t had access to sanitary pads and feminine hygiene products, they¡¯ve installed sanitary pad vending machines in rural areas as well as urban slums, where women or men can collect the pads without shame or embarrassment.
Being eco-friendly
Feminine hygiene products are normally made of materials that aren't easily biodegradable and contribute to waste. They are also impossible to recycle. To prevent this impact from worsening, her organisation has also been working on creating awareness on proper disposal of used feminine hygiene products including its impact on the environment, as well as promoting eco-friendly, easily biodegradable solutions to not end up in waste dumping grounds and thus also helping to save the planet.
