No girl should miss school
for want of a pad.

What women use instead

When a sanitary pad is out of reach financially, women and girls make do with whatever they can find. In low-income households across urban slums and rural villages, this means:

• Old cloth rags — often shared between family members, rarely dried properly due to lack of sunlight or privacy, and deeply prone to bacterial growth
• Ash, sand, and soil — applied directly to the body as an absorbent
• Dried leaves, corn husks, and bark — particularly in rural areas
• Newspaper and plastic — used in some urban slum communities

The health toll

Unsafe menstrual practices have severe, sometimes life-threatening health consequences — yet in these communities, the connection between the two is rarely made:

• Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and reproductive tract infections are rampant — and often go untreated
• Skin sores and rashes from prolonged use of rough materials
• Cervical complications linked to long-term poor hygiene
• Psychological trauma — shame, anxiety, and isolation during menstruation are near-universal

A staggering 70% of all reproductive health problems in India trace back to poor menstrual hygiene. Most women never connect their recurring infections to the materials they use every month.

How it disrupts everyday life

Period poverty doesn't just cause physical harm — it quietly dismantles women's and girls' participation in society:

• Women miss work for days every month — compounding poverty and limiting economic independence
• Social isolation is widespread — in many communities, menstruating women are still expected to stay indoors, avoid the kitchen, or leave the home entirely
• Fear of leakage means women restrict movement, avoid public spaces, and forgo social gatherings
• Silence and shame prevent women from seeking medical help — making a treatable problem a chronic one