3 women philanthropists help Murbad Adivasis with sanitary napkins

Three women from Murbad have been saving 10 per cent of their monthly income to provide sanitary napkins to the women in Adivasi padas of Murbad

Three women from Murbad have been saving 10 per cent of their monthly income to provide sanitary napkins to the women in Adivasi padas of Murbad.

Adivasi women in Murbad get sanitary napkins. (HT photo)

Though Murbad is almost 20km away from the city, women in Adivasi padas struggle to get basic menstrual hygiene products. Also, they are from the lower economic strata and cannot afford to spend on menstrual hygiene.

The three women, and friends, Urmila Late, 32, Suvarna Thakare, 34 and Yogita Shirke, 36, do not have any political or social connection but have been helping these tribal women since the lockdown by either educating them or providing basic facilities.

Late, along with her husband, operates a family business of selling and servicing inverters. She informed that the three have distributed sanitary napkins to over 680 women from twenty tribal hamlets in Murbad.

Late said, “We save at least 10 per cent of our family income every month to use it for these women who are deprived of basic hygiene and education. We had distributed sanitary napkins last year to all the migrant women who walked for miles to reach their home towns. We also provided clothes to the migrant women and those in the tribal hamlets.”

Thakare added that they started distributing the sanitary napkins on January 26 and made sure that the women have stock lasting up to two months.

“These hamlets are 15km-20km away from the city. Women use soiled clothes during menstruation, leading to infection. We have provided them napkins for two months and will visit two months later for the next lot. Last time, when we provided them in bulk, a few men sold these napkins to earn money. So, this time we did not provide them in bulk.”