Tell Goonj to Continue to Support Reusable Cloth Pads for Indian Girls

The Indian government recently announced that it will begin subsidizing menstrual pads for impoverished school girls. Many poor women in India currently use old scraps of newspaper or jute to catch menstrual blood, which can lead to infection. Subsidized pads can help remove the social taboos of menstruation and allow more girls to stay in school while also combating infection rates.

While this seems like a good idea, it has significant negative ramifications. Disposable pads can contain allergens, perfumes, and other chemicals that may irritate some women. Handing them out at reduced cost may solve a temporary problem like the spread of infection, but it causes innumerable long-term issues for a country already dealing with significant pollution and for women already trying to combat sanitary conditions that affect their health. Disposable pads are also an environmental nightmare, as the bleaching process produces harmful dioxins.

New Delhi-based non-profit Goonj has been working on this issue for a long time, working to provide cloth pads to poor women. But when the Indian government announced their subsidy program, Goonj stood in support of their efforts.

Tell Goonj to keep up the good work of supporting cloth pads for girls and young women in India, but take a stand against their public support of government subsidized disposable pads, which will benefit multinational corporations, create more pollution, and are only a short-term solution to a larger, more complex problem. Tell them to work with the government to create more sustainable, far-reaching programs that will provide cloth pads to more women instead of disposable napkins.

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