To shatter taboos surrounding periods and promote menstrual hygiene, a group of friends in Rajkot designed an affordable DIY pad using waste cloth and taught women in nearby slums and villages how to make them. The project won the Disney Innovation Award in the ‘Large Impact’ category at the ‘I CAN Awards 2014’ organised by Design for Change.
A group of boys and girls at the Galaxy School in Rajkot, Gujarat realised that, even within their close circle, they were uncomfortable discussing the topic of periods openly.
On probing this deep-seated issue, they stumbled across a report by AC Nielsen stating that a mere 12 % of Indian women use pads, while an overwhelming 88 % use unhygienic materials like ash, sand, and husk during their menstruation. Poor menstrual hygiene leads to the spread of infections and risk of cervical cancer, with 70 % of reproductive diseases in India originating from this. This worrying situation bothered the students.
Digging deeper to understand why this is such an issue, the students spoke to 70 women in their community and discovered that many cannot afford to buy pads at all. Most use rags and are ashamed to dry the stained cloth out in the sun, so they end up reusing dirty rags. Some women who can afford to buy pads are ashamed to buy these from shopkeepers. Most of the women were unaware about the possibilities of infection. The word ‘menstruation’ itself was so taboo that they could never speak about it.
Unnerved that a subject that affects nearly half the world’s population is little discussed, the students wanted to help erase this taboo. Knowing that belief systems won’t change overnight – especially those stemming from religious beliefs – they decided to spread awareness through campaigns and workshops, as discussing the topic of personal health would resonate with everybody closely.
Under the mentorship of Sakina Bharmal, the students designed a reusable cloth pad that can easily be made by women at home to target the prevalent issue of affordability.
Through a donation rally at school, they were able to collect waste cloth and towels for the project.
With the help of their art teacher, they made templates for the pads in three different sizes. Unlike normal rags, these have a towel layer between the cotton cloths to soak better and be softer, preventing rashes. While prototyping, the students found that one towel layer between two cotton layers doesn’t absorb well enough, so they tried prototyping again using three layers and tested the product successfully.
The students made a 5-step manual, in Gujarati and English, to teach women how to make these at home and sterilise them.