the importance of sanitary pads
No human being died because of poverty – everything happens because of ignorance.
There’s a fantastically interesting story on the BBC website about a guy in India who’s dedicated a huge portion of his life to developing a machine that can produce low-cost sanitary pads. This story makes me realise that modern conveniences aren’t just toasters and washing machines, but the inventions that allow us to move freely and safely all month long, especially when blood is gushing from our bodies.
Some interesting facts:
- sanitary pads are sold at a rate of 40 times the cost of the main ingredient – cotton
- only 12% of Indian women can afford to buy sanitary pads
- the rest of them use old rags or even sand, sawdust and ash
- 70% of all reproductive diseases in India are caused by poor menstrual hygiene
It makes me wonder how many other practical and obvious inventions to improve the lives of others are floating out there undiscovered.
Not a huge leap from sanitary pads to tampons, so let’s take it – little-known fact dept: all boots-on-the-ground American combat troops carry tampons in their backpacks, as they have proven invaluable life-savers by staunching the flow of blood, when inserted into bullet wounds.
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Interesting, practical application of pre-existing technology.
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I couldn’t wait to get rid of them. Walking round with bloody pieces of whatever between your thighs, leaking into your knickers? Not for me. Personally I recommend an early menopause.
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Oh well, at least we have the option of something sanitary until menopause kicks in. Makes me realise how much worse it could have been …
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such an invention would be more than welcome in my neck of the woods. Last I heard, the same scenario happens in some parts of the country and some children have to forgo school during that period of the month.
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That’s terrible, and something that people don’t like to talk about, like many of the unpleasant things women experience. Hopefully the machine will wing its way around the world to wherever it’s required. Maybe you could look into getting it going? Someone’s got to do it …
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Violet, this post is very much appreciated. That’s fantastic what this gentleman is doing. I’ve been a supporter of a sanitary napkin campaign for disadvantaged girls and women for a couple of years now. Here’s why:
“At the time of their period, as many as one in ten girls miss days of school each month, or even drop out altogether because they don’t have sanitary towels. The only other alternative for some girls is sleeping with men for money to buy the pads, or using natural substitutes such as leaves and cow dung, risking serious and sometimes life threatening infections.
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It’s really shocking, Makagutu just said the same thing above. Thanks for pointing to the campaign.
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He sure enough did. He posted his comment while I was writing my reply so I didn’t notice. Go Noel. 🙂
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More info from the Proctor and Gamble website which is also a part of the campaign to keep girls in school.:
I think this is awesome, so take what I’m saying as playing devil’s advocate. All those bleaches, chemicals, and dyes are not necessarily better then cow dung or whatever else is available. In the US at least, we have toxic shock syndrome. There is a great deal of pollution involved in making sanitary pads, too.
There’s always a tendency to assume that we here in the West know best and that everyone else must be either a victim of poverty or ignorance. Don’t get me wrong, often they are, I just wish we would be more respectful of those we perceive as disadvantaged. For thousands of years of human history, Proctor and Gamble was not around to provide the one and only proper solution.
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Even though you’re playing devil’s advocate, I think you need to read the full BBC article to properly understand the effect that no sanitary solution to their periods brings. I think you need to read ‘pads for Africa’ page while you’re at it. The guy in the article isn’t finding a way to bring P&G more money, he’s made a machine that allows women to generate their own pads. You’re either a clueless guy or a clueless woman with insanely light periods. You put some cow dung in your pants and see how effective it is while blood is gushing between your legs. Good luck! 🙂
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I should add that I know what you’re trying to say here. But this isn’t similar to, for example, Nestle marketing costly powdered milk over free and more nutritious breastmilk. We’re talking about girls not being able to go to school, women being isolated for a significant part of the month and the spread of disease. It’s insulting to suggest they should continue with whatever dirty material they have to hand rather than have access to such simple life changing materials.
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I never suggested that they should have to continue to use dirty materials or be deprived of going to school. I’m simply reminding people that sometimes in our eagerness to solve problems, we create Nestle nightmares. Or smallpox epidemics.
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Did you read the BBC article? ‘We’ weren’t trying to solve the problem, it was husband horrified by what his wife was going through. Sorry if my tone is terse, I do generally understand and agree with your point that we do a lot of silly things. It’s just so irrelevant on this topic that I’m scratching my head. Are you a man or a woman who would cope with dirty rags or horse manure in her pants for a quarter of her young to mid adult life, missing school and any opportunity to work? I’m intrigued.
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I’m a woman who has seen a great deal of harm done to people who are labeled disadvantaged, uneducated, and poor.
What’s intriguing is how emotional people’s responses are, even knowing our history of doing harm under the guise of good intentions. I wish this guy well. I hope for the best for those women.
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There’s a great deal of pollution in manufacturing most anything these days, like the computer you used to comment. How is bringing awareness being disrespectful? Do you think that bringing awareness about the disadvantaged, e.g., impoverish children in the West is bringing disrespectful, too?
For thousands of years of human history, the main cause of death for women was pregnancy complication primarily due to a lack of sanitary conditions, health care and education. The World Health Organization would disagree with your line of reasoning, and so do I.
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Hey, I think what this guy is doing is wonderful. He actually echoes my sentiments when he speaks about parasites and butterflies.
“For thousands of years of human history, the main cause of death for women was pregnancy complication primarily due to a lack of sanitary conditions, health care and education”
Kind of ironic, but when women really started dying due to pregnancy related complications was when we introduced “healthcare.” When we had midwives who did nothing but deliver babies we didn’t have as much infection. Once doctors were introduced, they would go straight from the sick and infected and bring those germs to childbirth and delivery.
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Ha ha, you must be a troll, no-one could be that stupid.
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I found a couple of nice quotes from your blog that put your views in perspective:
“I love science because science is where God lives. You can find His hand in the patterns and the synchronicity. You can hear His music all over Creation. Science is God’s game and He plays it very well. And just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, he changes the rules on you…..and delights you with His magic.”
“I have listened to the Shrieking Ones lecture me about racism, birth control, rape, men, affordable care acts. Without fail their utopian visions for a perfect society never seem to take biology into account. It’s completely left out of the equation. Poof! Biology has been erased. It’s unnatural, it’s stoopid, and it offends me.”
You also need to read about the history of death in childbirth, that puts blips into perspective. I hope you pay attention to the graph on the second page:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science_of_longevity/2013/09/death_in_childbirth_doctors_increased_maternal_mortality_in_the_20th_century.html
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Have you read the articles from parts of Africa where pads have been introduced, so now they have a problem with counterfeit Chinese pads that are actually causing UTI’s, fungal infections, pelvic inflammatory disease? Fortunately they’ve seized several shipments of these harmful pads.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I am just suggesting that we should consider how changes that make us feel good personally may play out in the future and impact those we allege to care about.
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Have you heard about the West using Chinese sheetrock which caused property damage and serious health problems? By your line of ‘reasoning’, no one should ever use sheetrock in their homes “just in case.”
If I’m understanding you correctly, you are suggesting that these girls should continue to use cow dung instead of sanitary towels/napkins, because “we should consider how changes that make us feel good personally may play out in the future and impact those we allege to care about.”
These girls are getting educated — and have an excellent chance of escaping poverty, HIV, and possible prostitution.
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Thanks for your comment. But perhaps you should direct your knowledge of what you think is best for women to the World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/features/qa/12/en/
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Just shared this with a friend – great find, and I agree with your sentiment, I wonder how many other useful inventions await discovery…
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Hi Thomas, so pleased you found it interesting. Hope things are going well at university!
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Amazing the things we take for granted.
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It certainly made me stop and think for the first time in my life how different life must be for women without access to something so basic and seemingly simple. This is just as important as access to birth control in terms of getting equal opportunities for women.
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The scary side of course is how easily it will ALL break down should anything radical happen..war, meteor impact, a Kylie Minogue World Tour, the return of Jesus.
And to think, companies like Coke spend millions upon millions on advertising in places like Africa and India and how difficult would it be to channel some of that money to a few of the worthwhile causes you have suggested?
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It’s difficult when the topic is sanitary pads. People don’t have a tendency to take items like that seriously – not the sort of thing that would make Coke look sexy.
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My sister, who you know is over in Malawi nursing, posted a video about pregnancy among African girls and how even talking about the subject is taboo.
I mean, let’s get real, sanitary pads are as much part of life as toilet paper..
This is another issue where blame can be laid at the feet of superstitious doctrine/beliefs.
Cow dung! Sheesh!
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I guess the ‘shame’ of the dirty, unpregnant woman is a common cultural theme. The history of humanity is pretty grim. Just as well there’s the god God’s sorting everything out as we go along.
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Quite….
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