#GoodNews: How TN Girl’s Sanitary Pad Workshop is Empowering Women

Each tailor stitches around 85 pads a day, and is paid on a piece-rate basis.

Ishana runs the workshop in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

(Photo Courtesy: Megha Kaveri/The News Minute)

An 18-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore is helping women by producing sanitary napkins that are made out of biodegradable cotton cloth.

Ishana employs more than 20 women at her workshop, which is located in Ganapathi, Coimbatore.

Each tailor stitches around 85 pads a day, and is paid on a per-piece basis.

Ishana began the enterprise in an effort to keep the environment clean. However, now her efforts go beyond keeping pollution in check and ensuring infection-free menstruation for women. Her workshop has provided the women of the region a sense of professional empowerment.

Born and brought up in Pollachi, 33-year-old Raji* thinks that working with Ishana is one of the best things that has happened to her. She moved to Coimbatore when she married a small businessman. Raji had discontinued her studies after Class 12 and taken up tailoring at a local shop near her house during her free time.

This extra skill became her stress-buster, a tool which helped her escape from the stress of everyday life. Raji added that the work has helped her save for the future.

*Name changed on request.

(With inputs from The News Minute)