Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated globally on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene. It was initiated by the German-based NGO, WASH United in 2014. The date ‘May 28’ was chosen because on an average the menstrual cycle for most women is 28 days in length and the menstruation period for most women is for five days each month. This is the significance of 28/5.
The theme for 2022 is, ‘To create a world where no women or girl is held back because they menstruate, by 2030.’ “This means a world where every girl or women is empowered to manage her menstruation safely, hygienically, with confidence and without shame,” the MHDay website said.
Red is the colour loved and celebrated by all around the world. But menstrual red is considered as exclusion and stigma. The main focus of this day is to break taboos surrounding menstruation as women are not always supported in the tough times and to also extend helping hand towards underprivileged women by helping them with critical information about maintaining menstrual hygiene and helping them with sanitary kits.
Brands too have left no stone unturned in creating awareness and appreciating women for the pain faced during these times with their powerful campaigns.
RIO
This World Menstrual Hygiene Day, RIO Heavy Flow Pads by Nobel Hygiene launched their “RIO Listens” campaign, featuring the brand ambassador Radhika Apte. The spunky digital ad ‘scolds’ women for managing on their period and asks them to use a pad that can handle their flow. Additionally, women must reach out for help instead of bottling up period issues and ‘managing’, the pad brand says.
RIO Listens entreats menstruates to share their period issues with RIO Pads, through social media. The brand that receives 25-100 DMs and comments requesting help/guidance on a daily basis understands the lack of credible information on menstrual health and hygiene and has been doing its best to fill the space. “Period doubt? DM us. Delayed period? Ask our gynac. Unbearable cramps? Just tell us yaar!” says Radhika Apte in the digital video, outlining RIO’s commitment to helping menstruates have a #BetterPeriod.
Nua
Pains, cramps, a hot water bag and curling up in a ball to find comfort – that’s how periods go for women in real life. Women are not all sprightly and upbeat during their periods. They need to just relax and take things at their own pace to go through the trying time. To bring this reality to light, Nua, India’s largest platform-first femtech startup onboarded Wondrlab, which designed the campaign #GoWithYourFlow for the brand. Nua has roped in Deepika Padukone as the face of their new menstrual wellness range which consists of products such as customizable sanitary pad packs, cramp comfort heat patches, intimate wash and panty liners. The brand campaign wishes to abolish stereotypes attached to menstrual health, and portray a realistic depiction of women’s menstrual cycle. One film takes on the cliché of women always smiling during their periods, another; water pouring on pads, a third; women dancing freely and so on. The campaign focuses on young women of about 22-28 years of age as they are more likely to feel comfortable shopping for menstrual wellness products online.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXZ1vcv4axs
Nua aims to overcome yet another menstruation taboo by sharing Deepika Padukone’s period story. The ‘Period Story’ video film by Nua is actor Deepika Padukone’s heartwarming childhood story of being educated about the period even before her school started menstrual education.
“I will never forget this moment where my best friend (Divya) and I were sat down by both of our mothers and her mom took charge of guiding us about periods – from explaining ‘what periods are’ to ‘why it happens’,” shared Deepika in the video. “I am really grateful for how she took us through this conversation with extreme comfort, empathy, and patience. I look back on it as one of the most notable moments while growing up, and I wish to spread the word across the world in a similar manner”, she further expressed.
Paree Sanitary Pads
Paree Sanitary Pads, a homegrown brand by Soothe Healthcare has been actively working with real life women champions toward prioritizing menstrual health for women in India. To mark this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day, the brand joined hands with India Vision Foundation founded by Dr. Kiran Bedi in an effort to make a positive impact by raising menstrual hygiene awareness.
Paree is a young progressive brand that is working towards making menstrual hygiene a priority for women across all walks of life. India Vision Foundation is known for its commendable work in improving the lives of prison inmates and this association will help in spreading menstrual hygiene awareness in female prison inmates. Through this year long partnership, Paree will conduct sanitary pad distribution drives in various prisons along with facilitating gynecologist sessions to make female inmates aware about correct menstrual practices.
Along with the association with India Vision Foundation, Paree Sanitary Pads continues with its initiative of #ChampionForChampions where it has associated with Women Police Force Pan India to not only provide them with the right menstrual protection but also promote the importance of menstrual health. The intent of the brand is to celebrate and salute these real champions who work tirelessly for our safety with their heavy-duty performance. The brand joined hands with thousands of Women Police Officers across 50 cities under its campaign Paree #ChampionforChampions to add voice and power to dialogue on the importance of menstrual hygiene. The initiative aims at reaching out to approximately 20,000 female police officers across 75 cities to become a part of this cause.
Kotex
Kotex, one of the pioneers in female hygiene products is relaunching in India, with one of its innovative products – Kotex Overnight Period Panties – a breakthrough innovation that gives unparalleled period protection on heavy flow nights is built to distinctiveness and excellence. It aims to support and encourage young girls and women on their path to establish a new world order and break the cycle of the old world.
Period management is a topic of growing interest with more information being doled out today and a concerted effort to move it out of a ‘taboo to talk about’ topic. The research conducted by Kotex in India suggests that Kotex Overnight Period Panties is a life changing product which provides 360-degree protection for heavy flow period nights. Kotex Overnight Period Panties breaks the old cycle of night-time discomfort and anxiety on heavy flow nights, by bringing in complete 360 degree protection for anxiety-free and restful nights.
The ad brings out the true Gen Z characteristic of being the harbinger of change in their lives and wanting to take charge & ownership. ‘I Own the Night. I am the Change is the message that underlines the campaign and the target audience. The youth today does not shy away from discussions and does not think period blood is something to shy away from. The campaign focuses on empowering girls to break the cycle and focus on their passions to progress. It talks about how each girl owns the night her way, period or not. The campaign throws light on their lifestyle, and how they believe they are the change.
Niine
Niine Hygiene and Personal care has distributed sanitary pads to over 2.5 lakh girls across 8 states within just a span of a month as part of the Menstrual Hygiene Day, which also happens to be the date of their 5th Anniversary. Since their inception, the company has empowered over 7.5 lakh women with access to safe menstrual hygiene.
Niine sets itself apart from the rest with the manufacture of sanitary napkins and baby diapers of premium quality that maintain an affordable price point. The company regularly conducts workshops in schools and colleges with the key objective of dismantling period taboos, increasing awareness and putting young girls and women in charge of their menstrual health while encouraging them to do the same for others in the society.
The movement brings together men and women by reaching out to them through social caregivers and self-help groups and actively encourages them to discuss periods and eliminate the stigma surrounding it.
Sirona
On the occasion of Menstrual Hygiene Day, Sirona – a disruptive leading Indian feminine hygiene brand with the Sirona Hygiene Foundation, announces the donation of 5000 menstrual cups to underprivileged menstruators across India along with training over 3 menstrual cycles on how to use the cup to ensure adoption.
The Sirona Hygiene Foundation is the social responsibility arm of Sirona which works towards reducing period poverty and gender equality in India. The foundation aims to end period poverty in the country, by giving menstrual cup accessibility and training to over 1 Lakh underprivileged women, through its flagship project-LakhonKhwaishein. In the last one year, the foundation has donated 5000 cups and this Menstrual Hygiene Day, it pledges to donate another 5000 cups to achieve its goal of reducing period poverty. To support the foundation’s efforts, the brand Sirona contributes INR 1 per product sold towards initiatives that improve menstrual health and hygiene of underprivileged women across India.
Ujaas
In the run-up to Menstrual Hygiene Day, Ujaas, an initiative by the Aditya Birla Education Trust, has launched an online petition ‘Let’s put the men in menstruation’. The petition is part of Ujaas’ larger campaign #ChangeThePsychle which aims to break the stigma around menstruation and normalize menstrual health conversations. The petition will be live for the entire month of May and is urging more change-makers to sign the petition and break the silence among men and boys around the topic of menstruation
In India, when it comes to creating awareness about menstrual health and hygiene, young boys and men are totally excluded from the conversation. This situation is not too different with girls where about 71% of them are not aware of menstruation till they get their first period. Menstruation in India is still considered a taboo driven by feelings of ignorance, disgust, and indifference among the men, and as for women, they too shun these conversations due to fear, shame, and apprehension, leading to zero awareness about menstruation. To bring in awareness about menstrual health and hygiene amongst adolescent girls and their family members, Ujaas has already conducted over 223 awareness workshops, benefitting 13857 girls and distributing over 322248 sanitary napkins so far since its inception in January 2022. The petition is the next step in bringing overall awareness by creating conversation and spreading awareness about menstrual health among men and boys so as to give confidence through awareness, break taboos and encourage open conversations.
ACI Hospitals
Celebrating the spirit of mothers, ACI Hospitals, aboutique multi-speciality healthcare centre with an expertise in cardiology and oncology, has introduced a women’s special campaign called ‘WOWMOM’ for the month of May. With an aim to create awareness and promote quality healthcare for women, the campaign urges women to focus on their overall well-being and participate in regular health checkups.
As part of the campaign, ACI Hospitals will be setting up camps and offering special diagnostic packages, homecare services, cancer specific investigations and HVP vaccination for young girls throughout this month for all women across the city. Apart from this, the hospital will be focusing on key health specific days in May including; International Family Day on May 15th, World Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28th and World Tobacco Day on May 31st by offering healthcare packages, setting up camps and creating awareness about the subject matter through a series of talks across the city.
Glad U Came
Glad U Came, the PR agency announces a period leave for its menstruating employees on Menstrual Hygiene Day. On this day, the agency honours women by announcing the new policy and encourages other businesses to follow suit. With 90 percent of its employees being women, the agency recognises the importance of the hour and believes that period leaves are something that every working woman deserves.
Glad U Came attempts to break down the taboos surrounding menstruation in a country where it is still a sensitive subject. This policy will make it easier for women to take time off on the first day of their period. Female employees are hesitant to explain the reason for their leave during their period, so they avoid taking leaves and work in discomfort and pain.
In any case, most women try to push through and go to work. This is typically due to a concern of being viewed as weak or unable to execute their jobs if they disclose menstrual-related symptoms to their supervisors in most of the companies. This policy by Glad U Came would give employees who have painful menstrual or menopausal symptoms the option of working remotely and taking a set number of paid leave days each year. It’s past time to acknowledge that women menstruate and that it’s perfectly acceptable to take a day off to get through the discomfort.
HempStreet
HempStreet has launched a menstrual hygiene awareness campaign for women residents of low-end areas and sex workers in Delhi. The campaign is launched in association with The Joint Target Initiative and Women’s Action Group Chelsea and aims to level the playing field in healthcare access for ‘everyone’, HempStreet aims to counsel the women and reinforce the importance of menstrual health among them.
Since its inception in 2019, HempStreet has been actively working towards improving women’s health. This campaign is an essential step towards fulfilling their social responsibility to the community. Under this campaign, HempStreet arranges doctor-led camps and 150+ women from the area attend each camp. The campaign was launched on 30th April 2022, with a seminar and health check-up by Dr. Preeti Chhabra and Dr. Pooja Kohli. The camp was followed by free sanitary pad distribution to all the women participating in it. The second camp was held on 5th May and was led by Dr. Ashima Sardana.
Comfy Snug fit
Comfy Snug Fit by Amrutanjan aims to encourage a larger number of cloth users in rural India to transition to sanitary napkins. They’ve also done an Unboxing liberation campaign, in which the sanitary pad is ‘unboxed’ from a brown paper bag, in an honest attempt to normalise and de-stigmatise menstruation. The company also organises menstrual hygiene awareness seminars in schools and communities.
