Viewfinder: Creating Low-Cost Sanitary Pads for Menstrual Hygiene Day

Author:: Pacific Standard Staff
Publish date:: May 28, 2019

Members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) make low-cost sanitary pads at their facility in Ahmedabad, India, on September 3rd, 2012. Prompted by the widespread suffering of women and girls in rural areas who continue to be plagued by unhygienic old cloth pieces or rags during their menstrual cycle periods, SEWA is manufacturing low-cost sanitary pads with a production capacity at 2,000 pads per day. — Members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) make low-cost sanitary pads at their facility in Ahmedabad, India. Prompted by the widespread suffering of women and girls in rural areas who continue to be plagued by unhygienic old cloth pieces or rags during their menstrual cycle periods, SEWA is manufacturing low-cost sanitary pads with a production capacity at 2,000 pads per day. May 28th marks the sixth annual Menstrual Hygiene Day, created by the non-governmental organization WASH United to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management, especially in low-income countries, where access to proper hygiene products is often limited by costs, availability, and social norms.
(Photo: Sam Panthaky/AFP/Getty Images)

Viewfinder is Pacific Standard's daily photo feature, showcasing one image from the news.

Indian Hindu activists burn an effigy of Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan during a demonstration in the southern state of Kerala, in New Delhi, on January 3rd, 2019. Clashes broke out in southern India for a second day on January 3rd as Hindu hardliners went on a rampage, seeking to enforce a general shutdown in protest over two women entering Sabarimala Ayyapa, one of the country's holiest temples. The women were the first to enter the temple since a historic ban was lifted. A day after violence—both among rival groups and with police—left one man dead and 15 people injured; authorities said that 266 protesters had been arrested across the state of Kerala.

Clashes broke out in southern India for a second day on January 3rd as Hindu hardliners went on a rampage, seeking to enforce a general shutdown in protest over two women entering Sabarimala Ayyapa.

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A member of the LGBT community celebrates the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a colonial-era ban on gay sex in Mumbai, India, on September 6th, 2018.

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An Indian boy cools off in a waterfall during a hot summer day at the Basistha area in Guwahati, India, on June 13th, 2019.

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A Chilean demonstrator clashes with riot police during a May Day rally in Santiago, Chile, on May 1st, 2019.

Social Justice

Heavily subsidized pads are making their way into rural areas, where girls were resorting to feathers, soil, and more—anything to absorb the blood—but we must find low-cost alternatives.

People walk in front of the Brandenburg Gate, decorated with a photo collage by the French street artist and photographer known as JR for German Unity Day, on October 3rd, 2018, in Berlin, Germany. The national holiday celebrates the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990.

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The national holiday celebrates the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990.

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