While India may be seen as an emerging super power, this doesn’t reflect in the state of the Indian woman. One out of three girls drops out of school due to lack of basic sanitation facilities, and every second woman uses unsanitary material during their period. Stayfree Women for Change Movement was a women welfare initiative conceived by Stayfree, a women’s hygiene brand and UNICEF to inform people of the appalling truth the women in this country live with. The movement aimed at giving every woman the right to a happy, healthy and hygienic life that was their right. An extensive campaign was launched across all media vehicles to create awareness about these issues and employ women from different walks of the society with a vision to make women equal to women.

Four words- “Mujhe Pankh De Do” (Give me wings) defined the motto of the campaign which was transformed into an anthem and later into a music video that was launched on youtube. The music video saw more than 450000 hit in the first five days. Launching of Music CDs and ringtones followed suit. The video was promoted by various music and entertainment channels. A print manifesto was launched in all the major publications in India. It was followed by issue based communication on TV, Print and Radio and the launch of special Stayfree packs that generated funds. With a Stayfree Women for Change webpage, facebook, twitter conversations and numerous blog spots the campaign gained momentum. On ground activities like the Pinkathon, Bloggers meet and DNA i-Can added more fuel to fire. Stayfree also joined hands with the Delhi Government’s Kishori Project to change the lives of girls in rural India.

On a business front the campaign worked for the brand on various levels. As only 12% of girls greet their first period with a sanitary napkin, generating awareness about sanitary hygiene helped expand the recruitment of entry level consumers. It also helped improving brand love for Stayfree amongst existing users.

On a social level the impact of the campaign was much bigger. The Music video saw more that 450000 hits in the first five days. The Stayfree Women for Change Volunteer page recruited more than 24000 women and social media generated over 1.9 million conversations making the campaign a huge success. Over 380 bloggers across the world joined the movement that lead to on ground activities like bloggers meets. Finally on 3rd of October 2012, the Supreme Court of India directed schools across India to provide basic restroom facilities for girls within six months. The result was that over 10 million girls in India, today have the healthy hygienic life that is their right.