When was the menstrual pad invented

Muruga was on mission: to produce low-cost sanitary pads for all the girls and women in his country. It was two years before he finally found the right material and another four years before he developed a way to process it.

The result was an easy-to-use machine for producing low-cost sanitary pads. He has started a revolution in his own country, selling 1, machines to 27 states, and has recently begun exporting them to developing countries all over the world. Filmmaker: Dirk Gilson. Executive Producer: Yasir Khan. Assistant Producer: Ziad Ramley. The number of women in India without access to safe menstrual hygiene products. Arunachalam Muruganantham and his wife, Shanti.

While these methods are revolting enough in themselves, history charts the development of even more unconventional and painful ways of women dealing with their periods. In ancient Egypt, women used papyrus that they soaked in the waters of Nile river to soften it enough to absorb blood. One can only wonder how the Grecian women kept their white togas pristine.

As it turns out, it came with a lot of pain, as they used splinters of wood wrapped in cotton to absorb blood. England and Germany. Some scholars note that the 18th and 19th century English and German women were encouraged to bleed into their clothes. Now, options like sanitary aprons were available. However, they were less for collecting blood and more for protecting the clothing.

Why not empower girls? The Indian government recently announced it would distribute subsidised sanitary products to poorer women. It was a blow for Muruganantham that it did not choose to work with him, but he now has his eyes on the wider world. He is expanding to countries across the globe, including Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. Muruganantham now lives with his family in a modest apartment. He owns a jeep, "a rugged car that will take me to hillsides, jungles, forest", but has no desire to accumulate possessions.

He prefers to spend his time talking to university and college students. He's an engaging and funny speaker, despite his idiosyncratic English. He says he is not working brain to brain but heart to heart. Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future. His wife Shanthi agrees with him on this point.

Now he's employing other people. Shanthi and Muruganantham are now a tight unit. When a girl reaches puberty in their village, there is a ceremony - traditionally it meant that they were ready to marry. Shanthi always brings a sanitary pad as a gift and explains how to use it. Now they come and talk to me, they ask questions and they also get sanitary napkins to try them. They have all changed a lot in the village. He was once asked whether receiving the award from the Indian president was the happiest moment of his life.

He said no - his proudest moment came after he installed a machine in a remote village in Uttarakhand, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where for many generations nobody had earned enough to allow children to go to school.

A year later, he received a call from a woman in the village to say that her daughter had started school. Listen again on iPlayer or get the Outlook podcast. Jayaashree Industries - A. Muruganantham How I started a sanitary napkin revolution! Grassroots Innovation Network. Image source, Amit Virmani. The documentary Menstrual Man follows Muruganantham as he installs his machines across India.

The simple machine looks like the Wright brothers' first flight - all the workings are on the outside. Image source, Jayashree Industries. Muruganantham trains women to use his machines - he still installs many of them himself. Image source, Jayaashree Industries. Some Indian school girls are now making their own sanitary pads. Image source, Muruganantham.

Mary invented a number of things that improved the lives of women and people who needed extra assistance. Her most famous invention was a sanitary belt attached to a pocket that was moisture proof. She invented the belt first and patented the moisture proof pocket later. There were not very many options for women who were menstruating back in the day.

There were tampons, but it was considered scandalous to use them. She added a cloth pouch with a moistureproof seal that attached to the belt.