When we talk about the basic needs of humankind, we refer to food, shelter, and clothing. But clothing has historically been an ignored ‘non-issue’. Twenty years ago, our work at Goonj started around this basic necessity—clothing. That became the foundation of Goonj, and through our work, we began to notice that cloth plays many different roles. For women, one of the most basic uses of cloth is for five to seven days every month, during menstruation.

In the early 2000s, menstrual hygiene hadn’t really been mapped as an issue or a problem—by either the development sector or the government. There was no real problem statement, and there were no real solutions for the vast majority of women who are at the bottom of the pyramid. New to this issue, we didn’t quite understand the nuances of menstrual hygiene, but were still surprised by the absence of attention and awareness around the issue. Because in India—whether you work with self-help groups, microfinance institutions, or anganwadis—the first stakeholder you talk to and interact with is a woman.

Even today, more than a decade later, menstruation is still a taboo subject in India; not just in rural areas but in cities as well. Try buying a pack of sanitary pads from your chemist—it will invariably be handed over to you wrapped in a black polythene bag or a newspaper.

The government, civil society, and even mainstream Bollywood have started to generate a lot of awareness around menstrual health. And with the entry of so many menstrual hygiene product manufacturers, the landscape is changing. But awareness is not enough. Have social norms also changed? Has any of this translated into solving the challenges that millions of women face every month when they menstruate?

Read the full article about women's menstrual health by Anshu Gupta at India Development Review.