Bollywood star & and India’s Pad Man Akshay Kumar joined the Menstrual Awareness Conclave in Delhi, India to mark International Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28th May 2018. Along with Akshay Kumar, Shabana Azmi also graced the event as its Chief Guest at Hotel ITC Maurya New Delhi along with several other dignitaries hailing from different fields like – academics, policymakers, government officials, activists, medical experts, business stalwarts, NGOs, and thought-leaders.
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The Niine Movement, an ambitious five-year plan aimed at raising awareness on the importance of menstrual hygiene and tackling the taboos associated with menstruation, officially launched at the inaugural Menstrual Awareness Conclave.
Akshay Kumar’s recent award-winning film Pad Man had tackled the issue of menstrual taboo. Speaking about his support of the Menstrual Awareness Conclave, Akshay Kumar said: “The Niine Menstrual Awareness Conclave is a crucial assembly of minds, influencers and menstrual awareness champions – convening under one roof with the common goal of tackling the urgent issues, taboos and stigmas associated with menstrual health and hygiene. We, as a collective society, can only implement change once we initiate discussion, and the conclave on International Menstrual Hygiene Day is a fitting platform for us to truly empower a nation of women.”
As a result, the unwillingness to discuss menstruation, there is a subsequent culture of silence and shame which has left women and girls with no choice but to partake in unsafe menstrual practices, frequently resulting in urinary and reproductive tract infections, stress, and anxiety.
The participants discussed the impact, stigma and taboos associated with menstruation, which have held girls and women back for centuries from achieving their potential and living a life of respect and dignity.
The Menstrual Awareness Conclave also featured two high-level panels engaging prominent and expert panellists. The first panel is Chaired and Moderated by Poonam Muttreja, the Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India (PFI).
Some of the panelists included film actor and women’s rights activist Shabana Azmi, Avinash Kumar, Director Programme and Policy, WaterAid India, Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Representative, UN Women India MCO and Dr. Jaideep Malhotra, President of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI).
The Niine Movement and Niine Menstrual Awareness Conclave is conceived by social entrepreneur Amar Tulsiyan. Speaking about the launch, founder Amar Tulsiyan said: “Menstrual hygiene awareness is an issue that is severely under-represented in this country, as demonstrated by the amount of women who still do not use proper menstrual hygiene products to manage their periods.
Even amongst the 18%, they lack awareness of the importance of using clean sanitary napkins and not to reuse the product, which is why as part of our theory of change, we need to Enrol existing menstrual hygiene product users and those who don’t in a supportive, taboo free environment to create an open forum for discussion and deliberation.”
