Gujarat woman steering menstrual hygiene revolution in UP districts

LUCKNOW: "I will chop you and dump the body parts in the forest." This was how a young villager near Vadodara, Gujarat threatened Swati Bedekar when she tried to initiate a drive to promote menstrual hygiene.
But, she did not relent. After achieving positive results in various parts of the country, the entrepreneur from Gujarat is now steering a woman empowerment revolution in UP- through sanitary napkins.

She has successfully installed sanitary vending machines in 50 govt schools each in Chitrakoot, Mirzapur, Agra, Noida and 100 in Ghazipur. The machines dispense organic napkins made of biodegradable raw materials. Now, she is in talks with Ayodhya mayor to cover 50 govt schools in the temple town.
"The Rs 2.5 sanitary pad consists of an absorbent sheet made of banana stem fibre and is made at our units in Chitrakoot, Mirzapur and Ghazipur," said Bedekar.
Taking her movement forward, her husband Shyam, a textile engineer, designed the 'Ashudhinashak', an easy-to-use incinerator made of clay, that needs no electricity and can burn several used napkins simultaneously without raising a smoke.
Once the pads are dumped in the incinerator, they are burned and the ash is used in gardens to nourish plants.
"The clay machines do not spread any bad odour and help prevent spread of bacterial diseases," said Bedekar, who won 'Best Grassroot Innovation Award' in 2015 from then President Pranab Mukherjee. The National Innovation Council set up by Abdul Kalam had also invited Bedekar to showcase the incinerator at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Talking about her struggle, Renu, a girl student in Chitrakoot, said, "My mother and I used to put our health at immense risk during menstruation. We used old rags or leaves with mud during the monthly cycles. I had to skip a week of school every month. And there were other girls too, facing the same predicament. Thanks to Bedekar didi, we now have a sanitary vending machine in our schools and don't need to skip classes." Bedekar said, "Since Independence, menstruation has never been a part of health policies. Though humans have reached space, menstruation is still taboo. I want to debunk myths surrounding menstruation. There is no awareness about disposal of sanitary napkins in an eco-friendly way. Thanks to 'Ashudhinashak', girl students no longer have to skip schools and can attend classes with confidence."
In 2010, the couple launched a startup 'Sakhi' to set up low-cost sanitary napkin manufacturing units.
What started as a project to promote menstrual hygiene has now turned into a source of livelihood for women.
"We employ local rural women in our units. At every unit, 6 to 7 women work. They have flexible timings, and make around Rs 3,000-3,500, every month," the former science educator said.
She ropes in local potters to manufacture these clay incinerators. "Manufacturing 'Ashudhinashak' costs Rs 5,000 and a single machine can cater to at least 100 women," she said.
Before UP, the couple established similar units in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.