SUHAIL KHAN
BANDIPORA, Feb 24: A group of eleven women from Shahgund village in Bandipora district have started manufacturing and marketing their own brand of sanitary napkins under the name ‘Rahat Health and Wellbeing’.
The venture, which aims to enhance the incomes of village women while ensuring better health and hygiene, is the first of its kind in the Kashmir valley.
The Self Help Group (SHG) members received training and equipment for the production of sanitary napkins in Mumbai with the help of the Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM) UMEED.
Financial support for setting up the production unit was also provided by the JKRLM.
Raziya, the owner of the sanitary napkin unit, while talking with this reporter expressed her gratitude towards the government for providing the opportunity to not only script their success story but also earn their livelihood.
“The cost of our product is low compared to others in the market, making it affordable for rural women,” she said. The SHG members hope to generate revenue while improving the health of rural women, and aim to garner attention for their brand at a national and international level.
They tested their product on themselves before selling it in the market, ensuring it is fully verified and certified by the department.
The project has the potential to spread awareness on the benefits of adopting hygienic practices while addressing problems of availability and affordability of sanitary napkins for women in the area.
Raziya said that the project will also help discard traditional methods of using unhygienic cloth during menstruation.
The SHG members have already started manufacturing 1000 to 1200 napkins per day and aim to market around 2000 pieces of napkins every day.
The successful launch of the project has inspired the SHG members to urge other women to come forward and avail themselves of government schemes that aim to make women self-sufficient and independent.
The group hopes that their venture will encourage the establishment of more such units to ensure better menstrual hygiene among women.
Shreen Shafi, an official from the livelihood department said that the establishment of this project will serve as a means of promoting the importance of hygienic practices, as well as addressing the issue of the unavailability and unaffordability of sanitary napkins for women in the area.
“This initiative will greatly benefit women’s health and contribute positively to the community as a whole. The affordable price point of these sanitary napkins will provide a viable alternative for rural women, allowing them to abandon the traditional and unsanitary practice of using cloth,” she said.
The officials expressed their desire for more such initiatives to be established, and expressed their admiration for the women of this self-help group for defying the odds and establishing this venture despite the societal restrictions placed upon women.
The officials further reiterated the importance of economic independence for women, and praised the efforts of the State Rural Livelihood Mission in this regard.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
