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https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/other/they-invested-dollar50k-to-help-women-in-singapore-and-india-have-the-‘best-periods-ever’/ar-AAvrJww
They Invested $50K To Help Women In Singapore And India Have The ‘Best Periods Ever’
© Provided by Vulcan Post
According a report published by Allied Market Research in 2016, the global feminine hygiene products market is expected to reap a revenue of US$42.7 billion in 2022.
The Asia-Pacific region was also estimated to be the largest market for these products in 2015.
However, even with all that revenue being generated, pockets of girls in communities around the world still don’t have access to these products; or worse, don’t even know how to deal with their monthly cycles.
Singapore-based serial entrepreneur Kanika Agarwal (26) noticed this firsthand when her helper back in India said that her 2 daughters, 12 and 14, would be assisting her in cleaning houses to earn extra money.
“This is normal in India, but the reason she gave wasn’t a usual one,” explained Kanika.
“When her (the helper) older daughter started menstruating, she had stained her uniform in her school. Given that they cannot afford nor are educated about sanitary napkins, her clothes were completely spoilt.”
The little girl didn’t know what to do and was scolded in school for doing a ‘wrong deed’.
“My helper – their mother – neither understood nor supported the girl, let alone their father. She had to stop school. That’s when it hit me, mothers are limiting their daughters.”
Celebration of Menstrual Hygiene Day in India / Image Credit: The Wire
This was in contrast to Kanika’s own mother, who told her that periods were “a beautiful thing to embrace, a special power of giving life”.
More importantly, periods should not inhibit a woman’s ambitions or plans.
Spurred on to looking further into the situation in India, Kanika found out that 80% of girls don’t use sanitary napkins, 70% can’t afford menstrual supplies, and 23% drop out of school because of the lack of access to a toilet in school to manage their periods.
They Invested $50K To Help Women In Singapore And India Have The ‘Best Periods Ever’
© Provided by Vulcan Post
According a report published by Allied Market Research in 2016, the global feminine hygiene products market is expected to reap a revenue of US$42.7 billion in 2022.
The Asia-Pacific region was also estimated to be the largest market for these products in 2015.
However, even with all that revenue being generated, pockets of girls in communities around the world still don’t have access to these products; or worse, don’t even know how to deal with their monthly cycles.
Singapore-based serial entrepreneur Kanika Agarwal (26) noticed this firsthand when her helper back in India said that her 2 daughters, 12 and 14, would be assisting her in cleaning houses to earn extra money.
“This is normal in India, but the reason she gave wasn’t a usual one,” explained Kanika.
“When her (the helper) older daughter started menstruating, she had stained her uniform in her school. Given that they cannot afford nor are educated about sanitary napkins, her clothes were completely spoilt.”
The little girl didn’t know what to do and was scolded in school for doing a ‘wrong deed’.
“My helper – their mother – neither understood nor supported the girl, let alone their father. She had to stop school. That’s when it hit me, mothers are limiting their daughters.”
Celebration of Menstrual Hygiene Day in India / Image Credit: The Wire
This was in contrast to Kanika’s own mother, who told her that periods were “a beautiful thing to embrace, a special power of giving life”.
More importantly, periods should not inhibit a woman’s ambitions or plans.
Spurred on to looking further into the situation in India, Kanika found out that 80% of girls don’t use sanitary napkins, 70% can’t afford menstrual supplies, and 23% drop out of school because of the lack of access to a toilet in school to manage their periods.
