Blog – Aadya

What Is Menstrual Hygiene?

Nikita — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:34:28 +0000

Menstrual hygiene refers to the practices and care that women and menstruators follow during their monthly periods to stay clean, healthy, and comfortable. It includes using safe and clean menstrual products, changing them regularly, maintaining personal hygiene, and disposing of used products responsibly.

Good menstrual hygiene helps prevent infections, skin irritation, and discomfort. It also supports overall physical well-being and confidence during menstruation. Equally important is having access to accurate information and breaking myths and taboos around periods, so menstruation is understood as a natural and healthy process of life.

At Aadya, we believe that proper menstrual hygiene is not just about products — it is about dignity, awareness, and empowering individuals to manage their periods safely and confidently.

A small beginning a ray of hope

Nikita — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:33:26 +0000

AADYA, means Goddesses DURGA, it also refers to Adya- Shakti or kali the power from which the entire universe eminates. the journey of Aadya begin a year back with a philanthropic vision of celebrating womanhood reaching to millions of young women who is still unaware of women hygiene, the final stage arrived after lot of research and correcting the defects, we reached our goal , where we will be reaching to millions of young women to celebrate life . We start our first baby step on dusherra a day to rejoice towards victory over ignorance and evils .May MAA guide us.

Stigma of periods in India

Nikita — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 15:32:42 +0000

“Hey, maybe I’ll come with you guys next time!” “Oh no, I’ll wait outside the temple, you go!” “Bhaiya, can I get, amm…never mind!” It’s evidently unfortunate to relate these sentences with every woman that celebrates life. It’s disheartening to witness such casual and acceptable norms that confines every woman’s gift to have it in them to create wonders. Yes! It’s about how we as individuals are too shy to talk about Periods, and the necessities that come along with it. Instead, we choose to hide it within excuses, slip it under the covers, run from the very existence of it, and are proud to get over them every month without letting anyone know!

Trying to negotiate? Let’s look at some “Interesting” facts: 1. Sanitary napkins are still taxable in India nor is it considered an ‘Essential Commodity’. That’s right, you pay tax on menstrual hygiene products like sanitary napkins taxes that can be as high as 14.5 per cent in some states
2. Only 12% of menstruating women in India have access to and regularly use sanitary napkins. The majority of women are forced to use rags, pieces of cloth, dried leaves and even old newspapers as absorbents.
3. Research shows that approximately 23% of adolescent girls drop out of school when they start menstruating and those who don’t usually miss up to 5 days of school every month. It worries me to read or write further, the shaking reality hidden behind the doors, trying to peak out of the windowpanes for hope, not knowing where to go!

The stinging fact is the truth that 66% of girls in India are not even talked to about embracing their womanhood, well, until they are shunned behind the “Hard truth” THIS is what periods mean to most of India today. THIS is what womanhood is seen as, and here we are marching for equality! Blunt, how much this may be, is the current stigma of periods in India of the “modern” times. Not only rural, but households of urban families see the same story in different ways where a girl is unable to tell her father or her brother that she is suffering immense period pain because our mothers have taught us to not reveal the embarrassing truth. But is it really a pleasant picture?

If the values that we imbibe and put forward to the coming generations, look down upon their very existence, then it’s a depressing world we live in! Let’s break the fact that the red spot on the pants is something to be ashamed of. Let’s take care of our own selves as we go through the beautiful cycle of life every month, and next time if someone asks, “what’s up with you?” Lets just say, “Hey man! Periods.” and smile.

Disposal of sanitary pads

Nikita — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 14:06:37 +0000

Haven’t periods always been this big discrete issue? Moreover, the bigger issue is, all us girls have always tried to be specific and use the best suited sanitary napkins. Let us all ponder upon the seriousness of, and enact the proper disposal of these sanitary pads after use.

1. It is normal to have questions when you first start using menstrual products. The main goal of sanitary pad disposal is to get rid of them in a clean and hygienic way. Sanitary pads can safely be disposed of at home or even when not at home in a few, quick steps: 1. Always change your pad every 6 hours. Fold your used sanitary pad in half to cover the menstrual blood, leaving only the adhesive side of the pad exposed. (This is to cover the blood and avoid its disclosure or stink

2. Wrap a few layers of toilet paper/newspaper/any waste paper around the sanitary pad, which keeps the pad folded closed. If you prefer, you can place the wrapped sanitary pad inside a small plastic or paper bag, or inside the wrapper that belongs to your next sanitary pad.

3. Discard the wrapped sanitary pad in trash cans located inside cabinets, like under the bathroom sink, or ones with lids.

4. Wash your hands with soap and warm water. (Duh!)

5. Empty the trash cans that contain used sanitary pads every two days to prevent odor. Bacteria that grows on old sanitary pads can cause an unpleasant odor to develop after a few days. NEVER! Try to flush the pads in the toilet seat. It ends up in a clog and is not good for the entire sewage system.

Safe disposal of sanitary napkins is not that tough a job after all. But, it is one of the most important things each of us should do to maintain our personal hygiene, as well as for those who are around us. Don’t forget to drink hot chocolate!

Celebrating Womanhood

Nikita — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 13:10:00 +0000

We celebrate life, and its pleasures, and its pain, the good and the bad. But most of all, we celebrate the one who creates it. We celebrate every woman, every day, creating magic. Today, let’s celebrate the entire process behind the magic. Periods! The beginning of a girl’s womanhood, her strength, her power, unfortunately has not been celebrated but looked down upon so far. It’s a feeling of immense, overwhelming happiness when a child is born in every household, but, incredible misery and embarrassment every month before and after that, because the world celebrates the life that has been created but finds it difficult to equally embrace the fact that a woman has to bleed 5 days every month to actually shape that little piece of hope we call life!

Why is it that the facts and figures of women going through sheer embarrassment and utmost neglect when on periods are not a matter of great concern? What does it take in a human to understand that no matter how ugly it may seem, it’s a beautiful process of life? How do we step up above the unworthy norms and shallow customs that can’t let a woman get access to her basic need, respect? Well, aren’t these some easy questions you think of every time you experience such events? Stop thinking, start celebrating! Celebrate womanhood, celebrate periods, celebrate life!

Menstruation is not a taboo and that’s what we are here to prove

Nikita — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 13:09:00 +0000

The problem of Female Hygiene & Sanitation in India

Currently lot many female lives without access to basic sanitation and hygiene, most of them living in rural areas. The culture of silence & shame does not keep the adolescent girls prepared for menarche and they are unable to manage their monthly periods in a hygienic & safe way. This sanitation crisis is detrimental not only to women’s health but also to their education, dignity, community status, and overall well-being. With improved sanitation for women, women all over the country will experience an elevated standard of living in several aspects.

Some Facts:

375 million girls and women of reproductive age, most of whom experience menstruation every month.
24% of school girls report missing school days during menstruation.
52 % of adolescent girls are not aware of menstruation before menarche.
54%of adolescents state that mothersare their main source of information on menstruation.
70% of mothers consider menstruation as dirty.

Low Use of Sanitary Napkins:

48.2% Women (15-24) in Rural India use Some Kind of Menstrual Absorbents during Menstruation Period
In Urban area 77.5% Women uses the Sanitary Napkins / Menstrual Absorbents

On Pan India this figure is 57.6%

Most of these Menstrual Absorbents are not Bio-degradable.

The low use of Sanitary Napkins has also been referred as the main source of infection among females in India.

*Sources: National Family Health Survey(NFHS)2015-16

Aadya Zaroori Hai: A Challenge

Nikita — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:17:00 +0000

Used Sanitary Napkin Disposal in India: A Challenge

Used Sanitary napkins often being wrapped in paper or plastic & being thrown away with domestic garbage or being flushed away in toilets flush or being thrown away into water bodies. It leads to the spreading away from deadly diseases like E.Coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, HIV, Hepatitis & Tetanus. These Napkins, since it’s mostly Non-Biodegradable, stays around 400-800 years.

336 million menstruating women
36% Uses Sanitary Napkins
121 million Women using Sanitary Napkins
No of Napkin being used per cycle of menstruation – 10 Pads ( Approximate)
No of cycle per year 14
12 billion pads (approximately) disposed monthly, majority of which are not biodegradable *
63 % girls do not change their absorbent in school due to lack of disposal facility. Adding to the above facts are some of our Socio-Cultural practices & believes, making it more difficult to ensure Hygienic disposal of these Soiled Napkins:

In some areas the sight of menstrual blood is considered inauspicious,
Some girls and women may buries their used absorbent in an attempt to remove all traces of menstrual blood
In some culture Girls are not allowed to use available sanitation facilities during menstruation

What is the solution?

One of the widely used solutions – to Change the physical nature of Solid Waste by incinerating them & reduce them to ash then these ashes can be drained down in toilet flush. Install these small Incinerators in each of the Ladies Toilets so that –
Women can easily Incinerate their Soiled Sanitary Napkin without any intervention
Machine to be installed inside of each Ladies Toilet so that women can have their private space
Load & incineration can be done by simple one switch operation so women can feel confident of destroying the soiled napkins by themselves
We should install as many machines as possible in Ladies Toilets so that it becomes a common practice for Women to use the incineration process.

* These figures have been calculated based on the National Family Health Survey 4 data, market penetration data, and census data by members of the Menstrual Health Alliance India

Celebrating Womanhood with new features

Nikita — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:16:00 +0000

FEATURES OF THE PRODUCT

Ultra Thin
Ultra Soft
Skin Friendly
Napa Gel Technology (Super Absorbency)
UV Sterilized for Germ Protection
Dry Net Top Sheet keeps one rash free
Large wings keeps one active
No harmful chemicals or perfumes
Low Price

Layers of Aadya Sanitary Napkin

TOPSHEET:- Perforated Topsheet is provided for smooth soothing experience
AIRLAID:- Air laid is provided for easy soaking of the menstrual blood
SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer):- SAP converts the menstrual blood into gel and acts as a convenient storage unit
BACKSHEET:- The Backsheet is a non-breathable layer which does not allow any leakage
RELEASE PAPER:- Release Paper preserves the glue which attach the clothing and the Pad