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A film about sanitary pads is going gangbusters in India, where menstruation is a taboo topic and only 20 per cent of women use the products.
Key points:
- Pakistan banned Padman without even watching the film
- Arunachalam Muruganantham was shocked his wife would use dirty rags when menstruating
- A paediatrician says stigma around menstruating decreases young women's self-esteem
But while the Bollywood flick is stirring debate, it will do little to help the millions of women who suffer social discrimination when they get their period.
Padman is the unlikely title for an unusual film.
It tells the real-life story of a rural man who invented a machine to manufacture sanitary pads cheaply.
He was moved to action when, as a newlywed, he was shocked to discover his wife used dirty rags to deal with her period.
Arunachalam Muruganantham gained global attention, even making TIME Magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People In The World in 2014.
But turning his story into a film was always going to cause a stir in South Asia, where women are banned from entering temples, and are traditionally forbidden from touching food or other people when they are menstruating.
Padman was banned in neighbouring Pakistan, where the censor board refused to even watch the film, before handing down its ruling.
Bollywood films are hugely popular in Pakistan.
But the censor board said Padman was about a 'taboo' subject, the film's title was sensitive, and releasing it would go against culture and tradition.
In India, the hashtag #PadmanChallenge went viral on social media, with business figures and celebrities posting photos of themselves posing with pads.
The campaign was supposed to confront the stigma around menstruation.
But in reality, hashtags and Bollywood movies belong to the wealthy and educated, and neither will make menstruation easier for the millions of women who live in abject poverty.
Indian women reusing old cloths
Fewer than 20 per cent of Indian women use pads, and most women reuse old cloths.
Doctors say that because anything to do with menstruation is shrouded in shame, the homemade cloth pads aren't washed or sanitised properly.
Complications from using dirty rags can lead to infections and even cervical cancer.
The emphasis in rural India, where pads are both unaffordable and environmentally unfriendly, is simply to teach communities that menstruation is normal.
Delhi paediatrician Arun Gupta, who heads the city's medical board, said most girls were completely uniformed about periods.
"Most parents and kids aren't really comfortable talking about these issues," he said.
"The first menstruation always comes as a shock.
"The girls, they say, 'what is happening? Is it a cancer? Am I going to die?'
"It decreases their self-esteem, they don't know what to do or where to go."
Dr Gupta said ignorance and shame around periods directly affected school attendance for girls.
It's believed to be the biggest reason why girls drop out of school during puberty.
Even for girls who stay in class, they usually skip five days a month when they are menstruating, rather than risk being teased or feeling uncomfortable at school.
For young girls who have no one else to talk to about the onset of womanhood, at least the film Padman may offer them slightly better understanding about menstruation.
But for the majority of Indian women and girls who must go without both films and sanitary items, the spread of knowledge is their only hope.
Topics: womens-health, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, india
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