Women are considered as impure/unclean during the time of menstruation. There is taboo and shame associated with periods and this creates a strong cultural restriction forbidding conversations between men and women on periods. This culture of shame and silence makes access to sanitary hygiene more difficult as women do not always have the means necessary (cost is a concern) and men are not aware of problems faced by women. Even if men want to help there is immense awkwardness in broaching the subject. Today, only 12% of India’s 355 million menstruating women and girls use sanitary napkins to manage their menses. Anandi (An affordable sanitary napkin brand) wanted to break the silence around menstruation and provide knowledge/guidance to masses, especially adolescent girls. The enterprise’s core objective was to sample in conservative rural areas and also change the mindset of both men and women towards menstruation and use of sanitary napkins.

Only 55% of young girls in India think of menstruation as a natural process and only 23% know that the blood comes from the uterus. (The Wire). Only 12% of India’s 355 million menstruating women and girls use sanitary napkins to manage their menses (AC Nielsen). Apart from cost + access being a concern, there is a cultural concern of taboo and shame associated with periods. Women are considered impure during their period. Conversations between men and women around periods are forbidden in society resulting in a culture of silence around periods. We wanted to break this silence and encourage the adoption of sanitary pads in a cost-effective, easily accessible and socially acceptable manner. The bangle box created by us didnot just provide girls with a means to access sanitary hygiene but also gave men a much needed non-verbal means to express concern and overcome their awkwardness around periods.

We defined a new role for bangles to play. For the first time ever, they were not just ornaments but a means to access sanitary hygiene. With cost + access both being a concern, we launched Raksha ki Choodiyan (Bangles that Protect) as a gift that brothers could give to their sisters on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan (an annual Indian festival for brothers and sisters). Each box contained 12 bangles. These bangles were engraved with a unique code which, when sent via SMS, could let girls/women collect their monthly quota of sanitary napkins, free of cost, from the local women’s health centre. The idea was to break the stigma surrounding menstruation and involve men to help, enable a behavioural change. The bangles thus, not only introduced the girls to proper sanitary hygiene and but more importantly served as non-verbal means for men to express concern towards their sisters.

India is a patriarchal society. To facilitate any development towards women, it is important to involve the men. However, due to taboo and shame most men and women donot discuss menstruation resulting in a culture of silence around periods. We wanted to break this silence. Hence, we leveraged the annual festival of Raksha Bandhan. On this day, sisters tie a talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, and receive a gift in return, thus traditionally making brothers responsible for protecting their sisters. We launched Raksha ki Choodiyan (Bangles that Protect) as a gift that brothers could give to their sisters on Raksha Bandhan.

Through workshops, the conversation about menstruation and hazards faced by women due to lack of menstrual hygiene was initiated with men. They were then encouraged to give their sisters these bangles during the festival thus, aiming a nationwide change.

Crafted by local artisans from Faizabad, the bangle town of India, the bangles came in vibrant patterns and colours appealing to all women – along with the code intricately engraved by the artists on each bangle. Each box contained 12 bangles (1 bangle for each month) thus taking care of a year's supply of pads.

Workshops were conducted by Aakar campaigners in villages like Bhati Mines, Fatehpur Beri, Harijan Basti across states of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan over three months. These workshops explained the process of mestruation, hazards faced by women due to lack of menstrual hygiene and also explained how the bangles helped and how code to claim a packet of pads works. To facilitate access, local women's healthcentres were involved as collection centres. The bangles helped men go beyond the awkwardness and also worked as a catalyst for women as bangles are a popular ornament in rural areas.

For the first time, a sanitary napkin brand leveraged the festival of Raksha Bandhan to bring out the gift of protection through sanitary pads.500+ men participated in this advocacy exercise which not only benefitted their sisters, but also benefitted thousands of womenfolk, as the men extended Raksha ki Choodiyan to their mothers and wives.

Campaign attracted national TV coverage on NDTV and was looked as a catalyst for change

This activity ensured many things like Indian men welcomed an understanding of menstruation, breaking the taboo and shame surrounding the process. Women were introduced to the means of menstrual hygiene and the promise of Rakshabandhan was given a real meaning.