Arunachalam Muruganantham invents a cheap sanitary pad making machine to remove the unhygienic menstruation risks among rural women of India. This story will tell you how.
Name: Arunachalam Muruganantham
Age: 53
Place of Birth: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
About Arunachalam Muruganantham:
Arunachalam Muruganantham is a social businessman. He is the first man in India, who is concerned about the women hygiene and issues related with scummy practices of menstruation in rural India. Arunachalam invented a low-cost sanitary pad making machine that will change the pattern of hygiene and expense of women.
The objective behind his discovery was to provide comfort and convenience to the women of rural India, who find sanitary napkins pricey. In one of the surveys, it was stated that the majority of the women of rural India still use ashes, sand husk, newspapers, dried leaves, and other similar things during their menstrual period. As a result, more than 70% of women suffer from illnesses that arise out of unhygienic lifestyle leading to related cancers.
Where the topic of discussing about menstrual cycle is still a taboo, it all began at Arunachalam’s house itself. This story is about a man who will touch your heart and win the respect of the women of the world. Arunachalam belonged to a very poor family; he lost his father at a tender age.
Despite being a school dropout, his curiosity for education never died. After his marriage, he couldn’t gulp that his wife used an old and dirty cloth for her menstrual cycle and really felt shy to even dry it under the sun for disinfecting it. There are many families in rural India, who can still not afford sanitary napkins and many of the villages are not even educated about it.
After facing turmoil of challenges by his own family and society, Arunachalam stood still facing all odds. Today, the machines invented by this respectable man are spread to 1,300 villages in 23 states!
Achievements and Rewards:
- Award for the Best Innovation for the Society’s Betterment, IIT, Chennai
- He also received a National award for innovation by the former PM of India, Pratibha Patil
- His is honored by the Time’s Magazines as among the 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2014
- He is recognized as one of the popular and truly inspirational personalities and falls in the liking list of people like; Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Serena Williams, Ronaldo, Xi Jinping, Jeff Bezos, Malala, Shinzo Abe, Beyonce, Putin, Arundhati Roy, Hilary Clinton etc.
- He received an Award for “Jewel of Coimbatore” by Rotary Coimbatore metropolis
Motivational Factor:
Says who, behind every successful man is the support of a woman; there are some men who are self-made. Arunachalam Muruganantham has won the respect of the women of the globe. His thoughtfulness in educating the villages about the safety and benefits of sanitary pads has brought a revolution in the health sector of Rural India.
The battle was not as easy as it seems. When he came up with the idea of studying what sanitary pads are made of, he was treated as a pervert, mentally challenged, sexually addicted person, and exiled by his village people. To the worse of superstitious belief, he was almost hanged and chained by a tree to get some healing from the almighty under the sun. People believed that he is possessed by some evils. With these frustrations, Arunachalam was left by his own wife and mother.
After several failed attempts, he decided to create a way with the help of football, blood collected of a dead goat from the butcher and some blood from the bank. He created an artificial uterus from a football bladder and used the pad himself. He is thus, also known as the Angelic Menstrual Man.
Read Also : Anubhav Wadhwa : The 16-Year-Old Boy Who Found a Way of Recycling Tyres For Reuse To Save The Planet
He has been scared to death at times, while he was educating the areas where menstruation was a taboo. He was asked to take permission from father and husband before talking to the women about sanitary pads.
Must watch this video once :
Muruganantham finally released more than 1300+ machines under the name Jayshree Industries and could have been among the richest guys for his economical invention. However, his objective was not to make profits, but to serve the people in need, especially the women of rural villages. This movement has also increased the employment and educational rate of women.
Read Also : A Unique Journey Of i-Bike A Driver Less Bicycle from IIT Kharagpur
Arunachalam beautifully explains his goals by stating that big business is like a parasite, whereas he prefers business on a lighter note similar to a butterfly that sucks honey without damaging the flower. My respect to this man!
View Comments (0)