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The Sanitary Serviceman 

January 6, 2017 
by Olivia Arthur 
In India, only 10% of the female population use sanitary pads, with the vast majority using an unhygienic rag - western-branded sanitary towels still cost more than a day's grocery for most people. This fact, allied to the issue of the menstruel cycle is a taboo subject, led Arunachalam Muruganantham, a metal worker by trade, to use his innovative skills to find a more hygienic solution for the vast majority of Indian woman. Economic constraints have driven India’s government and industries to create cheaper versions of many Western products and technologies. Arunachalam's quest to find an affordable solution isn't the usual narrative of "how I got rich", as the technology used in the West was never going to be cheap enough to produce sanitary pads for most women in India. Instead Arunachalam has created the means in which each rural settlement can create the sanitary pads themselves using simple technology. Olivia Arthur visited Arunachalam and his wife Shanthi in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu to document his company, Jayaashree Industries, and their effort to potentially introduce menstruel relief for half the population.


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