When there is a will there is a way and this is exactly what a woman in the heart of Madhya Pradesh is doing; she is transforming lives one sanitary pad at a time. The "Padwoman of India" Maya Vishwakarma has been campaigning against menstrual taboos since 2016 with her Dun Sukarma Foundation. Yet her experience can be characterized by courage, persistence and thirst to give other women in the rural and tribal regions a voice.
From Village to Visionary
Maya was born in village Mehragaon, district Narsinghpur and was brought up in a world where the issue of menstruation was something secretive. She did not know about other alternatives and used cloth in place of sanitary pads till she was 26 years old like many other girls in the rural areas of India. This inability and ignorance brought health conditions, which prompted her mission to make sure that none of the women undergo the same. Maya then went to the US to complete her studies in Biochemistry and served as a cancer researcher before going back to India to do the same in India. It is the calling to make a difference.
Building the Sukarma Foundation
In 2016, she laid the Sukarma Foundation, a non-profit organization engaged with the theme of menstrual hygiene and rural development. Maya took the issue to heart after reading about Arunachalam Muruganantham, the Padman who invented cost-effective machines to make the sanitary pads, and started a mini-factory in Narsinghpur in 2017. This plant makes cheap sanitary pads available under the name of No Tension which was aptly named since they are very cheap compared to those available in the commercial market. The factory hires local women, provides them with employment and with dignity, and destroys the silence about periods.
Educating and Empowering
Maya is not only producing pads. She tours the tribal belts of Madhya Pradesh bringing projectors, movies and pamphlets to teach women and girls. In 2018, she and her team were able to spread and cover 22 tribal districts where more than 20,000 women were educated in safe menstrual handling. She addresses the myths such as the one according to which women who are menstruating are not supposed to cook or pray with the help of workshops and seminars.
Her goal? So as to prevent infections such as UTIs and cervical cancer that can be caused by unsafe practice.
Impacting Lives, One Pad at a Time
The statistics are frightening: 97-98 percent of rural Indian women do not use sanitary pads, and more than 20 million girls each year are leaving school because of inadequate menstrual hygiene. Sukarma Foundation by Maya battles it with the pads and education. Indicative of the nature of the programs she broadcasts through her Padwoman on the Wheel program is the distribution of educational materials in local languages such as the Sukarma Menstrual Hygiene Calendar. Such initiatives benefit such girls as Pooja, a 12-years old girl who was taught how to use sanitary pads and remained in school, healthy and self-confident.
Overcoming Challenges, Earning Recognition
It has not been a smooth journey of Maya. Strong taboos resisted her even on behalf of her family. However, it became a success due to her perseverance. Her 2018 documentary Swaraj Mumkin Hai was the winner of the Best Social Entrepreneur Short Film at the World Independent Film Festival. She was cited with the DNA Women Achievers Award as a game-changer of women health in 2023, and Devi Award in 2020.
A Broader Vision
It has not been a smooth ride of Maya. She was hit by strong taboos even on the behalf of her family. Nevertheless, she made it successful through her persistence. Best Social Entrepreneur Short Film at the World Independent Film Festival went to her 2018 documentary Swaraj Mumkin Hai. In 2023 she was quoted with the DNA Women Achievers Award as game-changer of women health and has been quoted Devi Award in 2020.
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