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Arunachalam Muruganantham
Born (1961-10-12) 12 October 1961 (age 62)
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesPadman
CitizenshipIndian
Occupation(s)Inventor and social entrepreneur
OrganizationJayaashree Industries
Known forInvention of low cost sanitary pad making machine
SpouseShanthi
AwardsPadma Shri

Arunachalam Muruganantham (Padman) is a social entrepreneur from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. He is the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and is credited for innovating grassroots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India. His mini-machines, which can manufacture sanitary pads for less than a third of the cost of commercial pads, have been installed in 23 of the 29 states of India in rural areas. He is currently planning to expand the production of these machines to 106 nations.[1] The movie Period. End of Sentence. won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for the year 2018. The 2018 Hindi film Pad Man was made on his invention, where he was portrayed by Akshay Kumar.

In 2014, he was included in Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People in the World.[2] In 2016, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.[3]

Early life

Muruganantham was born in 1961. Muruganantham grew up in poverty after his father died in a road accident.[4] His mother worked as a farm laborer to help in his studies. However, at the age of 14, he dropped out of school.[5] He supplied food to factory workers and took up various jobs as a machine tool operator, yam-selling agent, farm laborer, and welder, to support his family.[4]

Invention

In 1998, he married Shanthi.[6] Shortly after, Muruganantham discovered his wife collecting filthy rags and newspapers to use during her menstrual cycle, as sanitary napkins made by multinational corporations were expensive.[7][8] Troubled by this, he started designing experimental pads.[9] Initially, he made pads out of cotton, but these were rejected by his wife and sisters. Eventually, they stopped co-operating with him and refused to be the test subjects for his innovations. He realised that the raw materials cost ₹10 (13¢ US), but the end product sold for 40 times that price.[1] He looked for female volunteers who could test his inventions, but most were too shy to discuss their menstrual issues with him. He started testing it on himself, using a bladder with animal blood, but became the subject of ridicule when the "sanitary pad" was discovered in his village.[10] As menstruation was a taboo subject in India, it left him ostracized by his community and family.[11] He distributed his products free to girls in a local medical college, hoping that they would give him feedback.

It took him two years to discover that the commercial pads used cellulose fibers derived from pine bark wood pulp.[12] The fibres helped the pads absorb while retaining shape.[4] Imported machines that made the pads cost ₹35 million (US$440,000).[13] He devised a low-cost machine that could be operated with minimal training.[14] He sourced the processed pine wood pulp from a supplier in Mumbai, and the machines would grind, de-fibrate, press and sterilize the pads under ultraviolet light[15] before packaging them for sale. The machine costs ₹65,000 (US$810).[9]

Rural women meeting as members of self-help groups (SHGs)

In 2006, he visited IIT Madras to show his idea and receive suggestions. They registered his invention for the National Innovation Foundation's Grassroots Technological Innovations Award; it won the award.[4][9] He obtained seed funding and founded Jayaashree Industries, which now markets these machines to rural women across India.[16] The machine has been praised for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, and his commitment to social aid has earned him several awards.[11] Despite offers from several corporate entities to commercialize his venture, he has refused, and continues to provide these machines to self-help groups (SHGs) run by women.[11][17]

Muruganantham's invention is widely praised as a key step in changing women's lives in India.[18][19] The machine creates jobs and income for many women, and affordable pads enable many more women to earn their livelihood during menstruation.[20] In addition to his own outreach, Muruganantham's work has also inspired many other entrepreneurs to enter this area,[21] including some who propose to use waste banana fibre or bamboo for the purpose.[19]

In popular culture

Muruganantham has become well known as a social entrepreneur.[22] He has given lectures at many institutions including IIT Bombay,[23] IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore,[12] Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Goa Campus and Harvard University.[24] He has also given a TED talk.[13]

Muruganantham's story was the subject of a prize-winning documentary by Amit Virmani, Menstrual Man,[25][26] and the film Phullu (2017) directed by Abhishek Saxena. Director R. Balki cast Indian actor Akshay Kumar as Laxmikant Chauhan in a film based on Muruganantham's life, titled Pad Man.[27]

Movies:

Year Title
2013 Menstrual Man
2017 Phullu
2018 Pad Man
2018 Period. End of Sentence.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Venema, Vibeke (4 March 2014). "The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  2. ^ "The 100 Most Influential People – Pioneers: Arunachalam Muruganantham". Time. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d National Innovation Foundation. "MINI SANITARY NAPKIN MAKING MACHINE A. Muruganantham". Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Who is Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inspiration behind Akshay Kumar's Pad Man?". GQ India. 23 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Arunachalam Muruganantham: The first man to wear a sanitary napkin". YouTube. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  7. ^ "India's champion for affordable feminine hygiene". Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  8. ^ Sandhana, Lakshmi (9 August 2010). "An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  9. ^ a b c Akila Kannadasan (13 February 2012). "A man in a woman's world". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  10. ^ Letitia Rowlands (14 March 2014). "One man's mission to improve women's lives". Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Buncombe, Andrew (29 June 2012). "The 'Tampon King' who sparked a period of change for India's women". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  12. ^ a b PC Vinoj Kumar (29 August 2009). "The Pad That Does Not Whisper". Tehelka. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014.
  13. ^ a b "TED Bangalore talk by A. Muruganantham". Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  14. ^ Foxx-Gonzalez, Kellie (29 June 2012). "Tampon King". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  15. ^ "New Inventions: Jayaashree Industries". Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  16. ^ Kumar, Vikas (18 January 2012). "Blood, sweat & a few tears: Arunachalam Muruganantham's lessons for consumer product firms". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  17. ^ Sandhana, Lakshmi (21 January 2012). "India's women given low-cost route to sanitary protection". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  18. ^ Ramdoss, Santhosh (31 January 2012). "Enabling Access through Low-cost Sanitary Pads: Jayashree Industries". Think Change India. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Social entrepreneurship in India : Cut from a different cloth". The Economist. 14 September 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  20. ^ Baker, Katie J.M. (29 June 2012). "Meet India's 'Tampon King'". Jezebel. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  21. ^ "Promoting hygiene". Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Dharamsala film festival". 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Esummit speakers, IITB". Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Harvard India Conference". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Pad Man". Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  26. ^ "The first man to wear a sanitary napkin". INKTalks. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  27. ^ "Pad Man first look: After building toilets, Akshay Kumar takes on menstrual hygiene". Hindustan Times. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

External links

Recipients of Padma Shri in Social Work
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