I have been working in north Indian villages, so I know the truth. Compared to the south Indian states, north India is less developed, and there's little awareness on menstrual hygiene.
Women are venomous during the time of their menses and so very dangerous that they poison beasts with their glance and little children in their cots, sully and stain mirrors, and on some occasions those men who lie with them in carnal intercourse are made leprous.
I'm not a period babe. Not at all.
I told my parents that I wanted to work on menstrual hygiene because I believe a girl can achieve everything if she is healthy.
Precisely what menstruation is, is not yet very well known.
Men have periods too, they just don't bleed.
When I took admission in a medical college, I found that apart from the lack of education, what stopped girls from menstrual management was a limited access to sanitary pads.
In prison, you're issued a number of sanitary pads per month. And many times, even when you're issued a number of sanitary pads, the guards will just come in and rip your room apart, rip your locker apart and take them.
There are some things worth giving up anything for, even your freedom, and getting rid of your period is definitely one of them.
Lack of access to basic sanitation facilities can be a traumatic experience for girls especially during menstruation period and have an adverse impact on their health.
You know in sixth grade, when they made all of us girls go into this other room and watch a video about getting our periods and stuff? I bet while we were gone, the boys were watching a video about how to look at each other in that infuriating way.
I strongly feel about women's rights because I have been working for menstrual hygiene across India.
I'm ecstatic to be known as pad man, as it makes a difference to women's lives.
As we know, menstrual hygiene is an issue women have been facing over the years. It's great that the initiative to provide low-cost sanitary napkins has been undertaken. It is an empowering step for many women.
You can't escape your own period. Whether you take sides for or against, you're always in it.
I was horrified to find out that a startling percentage of women, even in Bengaluru, do not go out or wash their hair during their periods.
Before anyone else, women need to accept that neither does life stop, nor does it change for those few days in a month.
I suffered a lot when I tried to make sanitary napkins and promote the idea. My family - including my mother and wife - deserted me. Villagers even tied me to a tree and beat me. But after seeing me successful now, they come and say that they all knew that I would become famous one day.
Even if I can take sanitary napkins to 10% of the poor women in India, it will be big achievement.
Menstruation not only carries with it the connotation of a productive system that has failed to produce; it also carries the idea of production gone awry, making products of no use, not to specification, unsalable, wasted, scrap.
I was doing some research on menstruation for a column. I read about Arunachalam Muruganantham's life and work, and his story gripped me, and that is when I sat down, wrote the first few pages, and sent them off to my editor to have a look.
Wherever I went and spoke about menstrual hygiene, I was beaten up by people. I used to cover my cheeks with both my hands whenever I went to speak on the subject, so how could I ever imagine that someone would make a film on such a topic?
You look pale, Sansa," Cersei observed. "Is your red flower still blooming?" "Yes" "How apt. The men will bleed out there, and you in here.
My project for menstrual hygiene is about empowering girls.
When you come from a privileged household, we've been able to buy monthly feminine products since the first day that we got our periods. A lot of women out there have absolutely no means to be able to afford something that seems as simple and as much of a no-brainer as a feminine product. I think Monthly Gift has a really brilliant cause - giving underprivileged girls free feminine products every month.
