By Anshu Gupta | Founder Director
Goonj is trying to reach out to 'some' among the millions of Indian women and girls in urban slums and villages who are forced to use use ash, sand, dirty rags or nothing at all during menses.
Goonj’s 'MY Pad', clean cloth pads (developed out of old cloth collected from urban masses) is one of the eight low cost and eco-friendly ideas which have revolutionized women’s sanitary hygiene in India. Do read- http://www.thebetterindia.com/10917/india-women-menstruation-lowcost-ecofriendly-sanitary-pads/
Awareness sessions are an integral part of Goonj’s work around menstrual hygiene. And that’s where most of the women share their personal journey of shame and silence surrounding the issue of menstruation. During one of these awareness sessions, a lady shared that she had taken My-Pad for her daughter in law who now uses it regularly as she feels comfortable using it. Sukhbati Yadav who was also one of the participants expressed that earlier due to an infection, she was planning to go to the doctor to get operated. But since she started using My-Pad the infection has subsided and so she continues using My-Pad.
India saw a series of floods and other disasters this year and as a part of our on-going relief and rehabilitation work in many flood affected areas, Goonj has reached out My- Pads as a part of the relief material.
Through ‘NJPC- A Million Voices’, Goonj’s global campaign, we are hearing heartwarming stories from different parts of the world. Voices are poignant, shocking and sad but most could be avoided if the taboos, shame and silence on this issue are removed. Through this campaign, Goonj aims to create a forum giving, where women can voice the challenges they face around menstruation. Make your voice heard on- http://njpc.goonj.org/what-can-i-do/
BBC team recently visited Goonj to capture the threads around how a piece of cloth plays a significant role in someone’s life. Here is what the BBC team has to say, after visiting Goonj's NJPC implementation area in Uttarakhand and My-Pad production facilities in Delhi - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29727875 . Do watch a 3 minute video clip also in the article.
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