In Sri Lanka, we are marking Menstrual Hygiene Day by screening the Bollywood Film ‘Pad Man’ on May 28th. The film is based on the inspiring life story of Arunchalam Muruganatham, an Indian man who set out to manufacture a low-cost sanitary napkin upon learning that his wife was using filthy rags and newspapers during her menstruation.

We have also partnered with three suppliers of eco-friendly menstrual products who will be at the cinema on the day to engage with the audience and to increase awareness on alternative hygienic (and eco-friendly!) menstrual products. The only product widely available in Sri Lanka is the sanitary napkin. Tampons are not available in the market here, as they are seen as taboo. Therefore, this event will also be used to raise awareness on alternative menstrual hygiene products.

The target audience for the event is youth. To create a buzz around the event and to increase awareness on menstrual hygiene and breaking social taboo, we created a quiz on social media as a means of giving away free tickets to the film screening!

You can take the quiz here: bit.ly/2IcxR3E