Over the years, your support has made Women’s Web the leading resource for women in India. Now, it is our turn to ask, how can we make this even more useful for you? Please take our short 5 minute questionnaire – your feedback is important to us!
Though they were more convenient than cloth, sanitary napkins are problematic, an environmental hazard. And then I discovered the menstrual cup.
My mornings begin with a cup of strong tea. It gives me the kick to start each day afresh. And then the rush begins as in case of any other homemaker who manages her schedules as per her husband and children’s.
Apart from those five days every month, I hardly feel any need for restraint. I am this jubilant, active person with a reasonably good health. But periods have been my biggest health issue. Starting from the regular cramps, weakness and aches, what I fretted the most about were the pads.
We generally don’t discuss such details openly, but this is a must while we talk of menstrual hygiene, and sanitary napkins are promoted far and wide especially after the release of Padman.
Our grandmothers used cloth which was not competent enough for longer periods of time and there were some hygiene issues too. Our mothers and aunts were considered “luckier to get the advantageous innovation of sanitary napkins”. Yup, the packets that are wrapped up in black plastics by the chemists, and advertised dropping a few drops of blue dye over it on televisions even today. Though I was hugely uncomfortable in using them from day one, however there was no other option.
The biggest problem was of rashes, my skin being hyper sensitive, I thought. As I read more about the composition of the sanitary napkins, however, I was shocked at my ignorance.
The brands boast of their products to be cottony soft, but in fact they consist of more than 90% plastic and its polymer components, which are non-natural fibers. This was a huge risk to the vital intimate organs.
The immediate second issue was of its disposal. These sanitary napkins are non-degradable. In India alone, menstrual waste is estimated to be around 113,000 tonnes annually which in itself is a task to dump (although installation of a few incinerators have shown promise, but they are like a drop in the ocean). Sewage and landfills are overflowing with its choking remnants. They are often thrown in a very inappropriate manner along with the dry and wet household waste, adding to the woes of the waste disposers.
My third retraction was the unbearable odour of a soiled napkin which was so repelling that one may invite undue breathlessness, along with an issue carrying it to and fro in between members of the family, making a silent announcement that you’re chumming.
Fourthly the pads are a high level of discomfort during physical activities keeping you restricted from being normal. To add to it, heavy bleeders always have a fear of staining.
Fifth reason is a financial matter of factual calculations as they are high on pricing without bothering on their non-natural compositions causing health hazards.
I wonder can’t every pack of sanitary napkin come with a statutory warning of its own unknown dangers?
I had to help myself by getting rid of this helplessness and shift to some better practice as early as possible. There were napkins made of natural fibers available online, but they weren’t an affordable option.
Then I read somewhere about this cup; the menstrual cup, which is made of medical grade silicon and could be used instead of pads, which sounded convincing. Recently I got one that stood by its promise, and made my periods hassle free. I am so relieved now that I don’t fret a bit about the ongoing periodic cycle. On the contrary I regret not having known a thing about this wonderful option earlier.
No more whispering. Bye- bye rashes. No stink. Eco-friendly. Economic. Just a few perks of using the cup of ease. Think hard before you buy your next packet; I am sure a seed of change can be the root of a new revolution!
Image source: canva
I am a homemaker, mother to two teenage boys, a happy person. Writing down my parenting experiences is a way to keep reliving them as I thoroughly enjoy being a mother! read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Instead of seeking vengeance after horrific crimes, the public should push for faster and better judicial resolutions. That is the best tribute we can pay to the victims.
Trigger Warning: This deals with rape, violence against women and police brutality, and may be triggering for survivors.
On the news yesterday we came to know that 10 police officers who had killed 4 young men arrested for the rape and murder of Hyderabad doctor in an “encounter” have been found “guilty of concocting their story, and were to be charged with murder.” The report of the commission doing this enquiry also says “The panel also found that police have deliberately attempted to suppress the fact that at least three of the deceased were minors – two of them 15 years old.”
December 29, 2019 was a Friday no different from any other. I was running late so had no time to read the newspaper. On the way to work, I logged onto to Twitter to catch up with the news. The first thing I saw was the breaking story on the horrific gang rape and murder of the 26 year old doctor on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
To think that money can buy you anything is as wrong as singling a woman out after her divorce because the world feels she got overcompensated.
A lot of people are attracted to money and that’s not a bad thing. Which is also why everyone talks about money and the rich. The rich always make the headlines.
The rich, also, get upset when their personal lives are talked about, and rightly so. They have all the right to privacy.
Time moves on. However, people do not.