‘Periods don’t Pause During Crisis’; says Co-founder of Pad Squad Aiming to Distribute Pads in Poonch

A total of thirteen civilians lost their lives while forty-four suffered minor injuries in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir owing to the military conflict between India and Pakistan, as per the External Affairs Ministry. However, due to the intense shelling by Pakistan, followed by India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’, a retaliatory move after the Pahalgam terror attack, many were displaced and left their homes to choose life, which started to seem vulnerable for them.

Among the most vulnerable, as it is in wars across the globe, are women and children whose needs and requirements in such situations are often overlooked. While the people of Poonch are getting back to their homes with the sword of livelihood hanging over their heads, Pad Squad is gearing up to reach out to women to meet at least their menstrual needs, if not more.

The collective, that finds its base in both Mumbai and Pune, which has been distributing sanitary napkins to rural and urban regions of India since 2020, started an online campaign on May 19, seeking donations for the sanitary napkins to further distribute them to the menstruators in Poonch district. 

According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2021), while the use of hygienic methods is lower among girls belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes than those belonging to other castes, the practices also differ according to the geographical locations. 

In conflict areas where citizens already deal with various sociopolitical turmoil, menstruation and the problems related to it take a back seat in the list of priorities. With the displacement and the homecoming in Poonch, the Pad Squad has, thus, reached out to two locals from the region who can further reach out to at least 5,000 women.

“Periods don’t pause during crises. And menstrual health shouldn’t be a forgotten need. In the remote border areas of Poonch, families are quietly picking up the pieces and rebuilding their lives after the recent unrest. There would be women and girls managing their periods in silence, with limited resources and dignity,” says Monica Raheja, one of the seven co-founders of Pad Squad. 

The team has collaborated with their manufacturing partner, Fabpad, a Kolkata-based label, for sending reusable, sustainable menstrual kits that include four cloth pads in a kit. “We are looking forward to donations that amount to Rs. 245 for a kit,” Raheja says, adding that by the time the people of Poonch get back to their respective homes, Pad Squad will be ready to send the kits. 

Catering to menstrual needs in tragedies

Before Poonch, the collective of seven founders had also gone door to door to the rural as well as urban areas of Maharashtra and various parts of India, to carry out the distribution drive. Pad Squad had gained attention during the lockdown when the founders and the volunteers had started distributing sanitary napkins to the economically disadvantaged women in Mumbai.

Alone in Mumbai, the collective has been instrumental in carrying out such drives, distributing clothes and pads for women living in slums caught in fire. Other than that, such drives have been carried out during floods in Assam and also in Maharashtra. 

Talking to Local Samosa about the regional needs and divide, Monica Raheja, also a producer and shared that the tribal regions of Rajasthan have been the most reluctant in accepting the sanitary napkins, and a few women also threw them after receiving them. 

Similarly, the Raheja recalls that the rural women in Saketri village, Chandigarh were sceptical about receiving the menstrual cups; however, a few of them reached out to her later on a video call after getting motivated by the awareness talks carried by the team to take it up. 

On the contrary, the co-founder highlights that the sex workers from Kamathipura have also been hesitant in using menstrual cups, but their reasons were different that moved her to the core. “They told me that they did not want to insert "another external object" (referring to the sex work) and that I can not forget,” says Raheja.

However, the tribal women of Aarey forest in Mumbai, as per Raheja, have been very welcoming in accepting the menstrual cups. Moreover, Raheja states that the men in the communities have also been accepting of the sanitary napkins and many a time, have also received pads on behalf of the women of the family.

Now, with the Poonch’s initiative, which is a first for the team in Jammu and Kashmir that already tackles the problems of awareness owing to various reasons, Raheja says, “We want to send reusable menstrual kits for the women in Poonch that not only meet a basic need, but also offer long-term comfort, safety, and self-respect.”

Pad Squad comprises film personalities including producer Chhitra Subramanian, actor Gillian Pinto, Niiya Kumar, Taranjit Kaur, director Surya Balakrishnan, and entrepreneur Mayuri Dhavale, along with Monica Raheja.