MEGASTAR AKSHAY KUMAR & NATIONAL CHANGE-MAKERS FORGE A
‘CHAIN OF NIINE’ TO SHACKLE PERIOD TABOO AT THE NIINE MENSTRUAL
AWARENESS CONCLAVE
High level panels featuring actress Shabana Azmi, Member of Parliament
Meenakshi Lekhi, Avinash Kumar, Director Programme and Policy, WaterAid
India, Dr Jennifer Butler Deputy Regional Director,United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) and more voice their support for greater action against the period
taboo.
Megastar Akshay Kumar turns rock star as he sings about Menstrual Hygiene
Awareness and honours Pad Heroes from across India for their work.
Attendees pledge their support for the Chain of Niine and to be a part of the Pad
Man Army to break the period taboo.
28 th May 2018, New Delhi – To mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day, megastar Akshay
Kumar and a host of activists, politicians, advocates and national change-makers came
together to launch the Niine Movement, an ambitious five-year plan aimed at tackling the
taboos surrounding menstruation. With the announcement of the Chain of Niine at the
inaugural Niine Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Conclave in New Delhi, India, the nation-
wide movement aims to raise awareness on the importance of menstrual hygiene across the
country.
The Menstrual Awareness Conclave saw renowned film personalities, academics,
policymakers, government officials, activists, medical experts, business stalwarts, NGOs,
and thought-leaders, convene to discuss the impact that stigma and taboos have had on
menstruation, and which have held girls and women back for centuries from achieving their
potential and living a life of respect and dignity. Supported by Television Partner and leading
Hindi news channel News18 India, and online partner Firstpost, the Menstrual Awareness
Conclave saw two keynote panels take place providing an essential platform for
collaboration, innovation and cooperation as panelists discussed sustainable solutions for
tackling menstrual issues across India.
Indian superstar Akshay Kumar, who’s most recent award winning film Pad Man tackled the
issue of menstrual taboo, recently began his support of the Niine Movement with the launch
of the nationwide campaign #18to82 to bridge the gap between the minority that are able to
adopt hygienic practices and the large majority who are not able to make an informed choice
in these matters.
As one of India’s most respected and reputed social change and women’s empowerment
advocates, Akshay Kumar took to the stage to interact with the audience, sharing never
before heard experiences of his time filming Pad Man and explaining why he was so
compelled to not only star but produce a film on periods.
In one of the most memorable moments of the conclave, he also performed a rock anthem
about menstrual hygiene entitled ‘Let’s Talk About Periods’, which encapsulated the
enclave’s strong message on breaking the menstrual taboo and starting a discussion
around.
As part of the Niine Movement’s commitment to educate and raise awareness of
menstruation across all genders and age groups, Akshay Kumar also spotlighted the work of
menstrual hygiene champions – Pad Heroes - from across India. These Pad Heroes from a
variety of backgrounds shared their extraordinary efforts to improve menstrual hygiene
awareness in their local communities, and were presented with 5 Lacs by Akshay Kumar on
behalf of the Niine Movement to support their continuing work.
Speaking about his support of the Menstrual Awareness Conclave, Akshay Kumar earlier
said:“The Niine Menstrual Awareness Conclave is a crucial assembly of minds, influencers
and menstrual awareness champions - convening under one roof with the common goal of
tackling the urgent issues, taboos and stigmas associated with menstrual health and
hygiene. We, as a collective society, can only implement change once we initiate discussion,
and the conclave on International Menstrual Hygiene Day is a fitting platform for us to truly
empower a nation of women. Together we can ensure that every woman and girl has the
right to manage her period safely and with dignity.”
The Menstrual Awareness Conclave also featured two high-level panels engaging prominent
and expert panellists. The first panel was Chaired and Moderated by Poonam Muttreja, the
Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India (PFI), which has been at the
forefront of policy advocacy and research on gender, population, health and development
issues in India. With taboos surrounding menstruation preventing women and girls from
achieving empowerment, respect and dignity for centuries, the first panel delved deep into
the socially constructed origin of the menstrual stigma and the physical impact this can have
on girls and women, in particular reproductive and urinary tract infections. If neglected, these
infections can have long term consequences including increased vulnerability to other
infections and in extreme cases can leave women vulnerable to infertility.
Poonam Muttreja spoke to eminent panellists focusing on the importance of menstrual
hygiene management awareness and practice and the work already being conducted on
ground to tackle the issues and address the barriers. Some of the panelists included film
actor and women’s rights activist Shabana Azmi, Avinash Kumar, Director Programme
and Policy, WaterAid India, an NGO which aims to transform the lives of the poorest and
most marginalised people by improving access to WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene)
services, Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Representative, UN Women India MCO, Meenakshi
Lekhi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from New Delhi Constituency, BJP National
Spokeswoman, Supreme Court lawyer and socio-political activist and Dr. Jaideep
Malhotra, President of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of
India (FOGSI).
Voicing her support to the Niine Movement, and calling for a nationwide action, Shabana
Azmi said: “In a country where 70% women suffer reproductive illness due to unhygienic
methods of handling menstruation, not only free-pads distribution but, a series of efforts
taken on the individual and community level can only help uprooting the cause. It requires a
change in mind-set, breaking of taboos surrounding menstruation talks and creating
platforms for more open conversations through workshops and awareness programmes.
There is also a need to offer encouragement to social entrepreneurs working towards
menstruation issues.”
Agreeing with Shabana Azmi, Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament also emphasised
the need to approach the societal issue with a scientific lens, and said: “Issues around
menstruation are not really related to patriarchy but deals with a mindset and that needs to
be changed in a scientific way. We should rather focus on usages of organic and
biodegradable pads than simply using a random pad made of plastic which eventually will
harm our eco-system and food chain. Scientific and eco-friendly methods of making pads
should be encouraged.”
According to UNESCO, 20% of girls drop out of school upon reaching puberty the second,
most common cause of absenteeism after household work. The second panel will focus on
the safety and security of girls after they reach puberty in the school environment, an
important concern for girls and their families that needs to be addressed in building a healthy
ecosystem in which girls and women feel empowered to make healthy choices with respect
to menstruation.
Chaired and Moderated by activist and the Regional Coordinator, India of the Royal
Commonwealth Society, Shivani Wazir Pasrich, the panel featured educationists and
menstrual hygiene management experts to discuss the challenges within the education
sector, which included the need for separate toilets for boys and girls with access to clean
water, and the importance of advocating for better menstrual health practices at schools.
The panelists included Dr Bindu Rana, CEO and Founder of Millennium Education
Management, the largest education company in India, veteran educationist Lata
Vaidyanathan, Director, TERI Prakriti School, woman empowerment championRaseel
Gujraland Dr. Jennifer Butler, Deputy Regional Director, United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) Asia Pacific and OIC UNFPA India and Bhutan. UNFPA has been assisting
the Government of India in addressing adolescent health concerns, improving access to life
skills education and health services, strengthening delivery of SRH services and advancing
reproductive health and rights and preventing gender discrimination and harmful practices.
The Niine Movement and Niine Menstrual Awareness Conclave were conceived by social
entrepreneur Amar Tulsiyan. Speaking about the launch, founder Amar Tulsiyan said:
“Niine signifies the Nine months of beautiful journey towards motherhood which can only
take off after periods. Menstruation is a divine boon of nature which should be celebrated
and not be ashamed of. This is where the core philosophy of the campaign rests upon. “
With regards to the taboo surrounding menstruation, he added: “Menstrual hygiene
awareness is an issue that is severely under-represented in this country, as demonstrated
by the amount of women who still do not use proper menstrual hygiene products to manage
their periods. Even amongst the 18%, they lack awareness of the importance of using clean
sanitary napkins and not to reuse the product, which is why as part of our theory of change,
we need to enrol existing menstrual hygiene product users and those who don’t in a
supportive, taboo free environment to create an open forum for discussion and deliberation.
With Niine’s Menstrual Awareness Conclave, I am hopeful that we can inspire and motivate
everyone to support the cause as I believe that we can all make a difference and break the
taboo around menstruation by talking, educating and collaborating. That’s what the Niine
Movement is all about. ”
The Niine Movement is supported by Jagran Pehal and Radio City.
For further information on the Niine Movement or to join, log onto www.niine.com
-END-
For further information, please contact:
Niine Movement Press Office
Sterling Media
Tel: +44 207 801 0077
Email: niine@sterlingmedia.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
About the “Niine Movement”:
The Niine Movement is an ambitious 5-year plan that aims to tackle the taboos associated with menstruation by
engaging all genders and ages to step forward and join hands to promote the importance of menstrual hygiene
awareness. Understanding the need for collective effort to change mindsets, the Niine Movement intends to use
its convening power to engage multi-sector groups in India - from governments, corporates and the NGO
community - to sustain not only a discussion but encourage affirmative action on addressing menstrual hygiene
management. To achieve its vision, the Niine Movement’s theory of change adopts a three-pronged approach by:
Educating girls, women, boys and men of good menstrual hygiene practices.
Enrollingcitizens and existing menstrual hygiene product users in a supportive, taboo free environment
to create an open forum for discussion and deliberation.
Enhancingthe sanitation sector of India by providing the best quality menstrual hygiene products at
appropriate prices.
Reflecting its vision for a new and better Swachh Bharat, which begins and is driven by girls and woman, Niine
also reflectsnine core ways a nation can achieve its full potential if we support menstruating girls and women,
using the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the 17 goals that world leaders agreed to
achieving by 2030 to end world poverty, tackle climate change and reduce inequalities, as an index. Niine
advocates a multi-sector approach to achieving the goals it has set out, engaging governments, corporates,
media, talent, not for profits and civil society to create sustained impact.
Website: www.niine.com Facebook: @niinemovement
‘CHAIN OF NIINE’ TO SHACKLE PERIOD TABOO AT THE NIINE MENSTRUAL
AWARENESS CONCLAVE
High level panels featuring actress Shabana Azmi, Member of Parliament
Meenakshi Lekhi, Avinash Kumar, Director Programme and Policy, WaterAid
India, Dr Jennifer Butler Deputy Regional Director,United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) and more voice their support for greater action against the period
taboo.
Megastar Akshay Kumar turns rock star as he sings about Menstrual Hygiene
Awareness and honours Pad Heroes from across India for their work.
Attendees pledge their support for the Chain of Niine and to be a part of the Pad
Man Army to break the period taboo.
28 th May 2018, New Delhi – To mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day, megastar Akshay
Kumar and a host of activists, politicians, advocates and national change-makers came
together to launch the Niine Movement, an ambitious five-year plan aimed at tackling the
taboos surrounding menstruation. With the announcement of the Chain of Niine at the
inaugural Niine Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Conclave in New Delhi, India, the nation-
wide movement aims to raise awareness on the importance of menstrual hygiene across the
country.
The Menstrual Awareness Conclave saw renowned film personalities, academics,
policymakers, government officials, activists, medical experts, business stalwarts, NGOs,
and thought-leaders, convene to discuss the impact that stigma and taboos have had on
menstruation, and which have held girls and women back for centuries from achieving their
potential and living a life of respect and dignity. Supported by Television Partner and leading
Hindi news channel News18 India, and online partner Firstpost, the Menstrual Awareness
Conclave saw two keynote panels take place providing an essential platform for
collaboration, innovation and cooperation as panelists discussed sustainable solutions for
tackling menstrual issues across India.
Indian superstar Akshay Kumar, who’s most recent award winning film Pad Man tackled the
issue of menstrual taboo, recently began his support of the Niine Movement with the launch
of the nationwide campaign #18to82 to bridge the gap between the minority that are able to
adopt hygienic practices and the large majority who are not able to make an informed choice
in these matters.
As one of India’s most respected and reputed social change and women’s empowerment
advocates, Akshay Kumar took to the stage to interact with the audience, sharing never
before heard experiences of his time filming Pad Man and explaining why he was so
compelled to not only star but produce a film on periods.
In one of the most memorable moments of the conclave, he also performed a rock anthem
about menstrual hygiene entitled ‘Let’s Talk About Periods’, which encapsulated the
enclave’s strong message on breaking the menstrual taboo and starting a discussion
around.
As part of the Niine Movement’s commitment to educate and raise awareness of
menstruation across all genders and age groups, Akshay Kumar also spotlighted the work of
menstrual hygiene champions – Pad Heroes - from across India. These Pad Heroes from a
variety of backgrounds shared their extraordinary efforts to improve menstrual hygiene
awareness in their local communities, and were presented with 5 Lacs by Akshay Kumar on
behalf of the Niine Movement to support their continuing work.
Speaking about his support of the Menstrual Awareness Conclave, Akshay Kumar earlier
said:“The Niine Menstrual Awareness Conclave is a crucial assembly of minds, influencers
and menstrual awareness champions - convening under one roof with the common goal of
tackling the urgent issues, taboos and stigmas associated with menstrual health and
hygiene. We, as a collective society, can only implement change once we initiate discussion,
and the conclave on International Menstrual Hygiene Day is a fitting platform for us to truly
empower a nation of women. Together we can ensure that every woman and girl has the
right to manage her period safely and with dignity.”
The Menstrual Awareness Conclave also featured two high-level panels engaging prominent
and expert panellists. The first panel was Chaired and Moderated by Poonam Muttreja, the
Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India (PFI), which has been at the
forefront of policy advocacy and research on gender, population, health and development
issues in India. With taboos surrounding menstruation preventing women and girls from
achieving empowerment, respect and dignity for centuries, the first panel delved deep into
the socially constructed origin of the menstrual stigma and the physical impact this can have
on girls and women, in particular reproductive and urinary tract infections. If neglected, these
infections can have long term consequences including increased vulnerability to other
infections and in extreme cases can leave women vulnerable to infertility.
Poonam Muttreja spoke to eminent panellists focusing on the importance of menstrual
hygiene management awareness and practice and the work already being conducted on
ground to tackle the issues and address the barriers. Some of the panelists included film
actor and women’s rights activist Shabana Azmi, Avinash Kumar, Director Programme
and Policy, WaterAid India, an NGO which aims to transform the lives of the poorest and
most marginalised people by improving access to WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene)
services, Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Representative, UN Women India MCO, Meenakshi
Lekhi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from New Delhi Constituency, BJP National
Spokeswoman, Supreme Court lawyer and socio-political activist and Dr. Jaideep
Malhotra, President of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of
India (FOGSI).
Voicing her support to the Niine Movement, and calling for a nationwide action, Shabana
Azmi said: “In a country where 70% women suffer reproductive illness due to unhygienic
methods of handling menstruation, not only free-pads distribution but, a series of efforts
taken on the individual and community level can only help uprooting the cause. It requires a
change in mind-set, breaking of taboos surrounding menstruation talks and creating
platforms for more open conversations through workshops and awareness programmes.
There is also a need to offer encouragement to social entrepreneurs working towards
menstruation issues.”
Agreeing with Shabana Azmi, Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament also emphasised
the need to approach the societal issue with a scientific lens, and said: “Issues around
menstruation are not really related to patriarchy but deals with a mindset and that needs to
be changed in a scientific way. We should rather focus on usages of organic and
biodegradable pads than simply using a random pad made of plastic which eventually will
harm our eco-system and food chain. Scientific and eco-friendly methods of making pads
should be encouraged.”
According to UNESCO, 20% of girls drop out of school upon reaching puberty the second,
most common cause of absenteeism after household work. The second panel will focus on
the safety and security of girls after they reach puberty in the school environment, an
important concern for girls and their families that needs to be addressed in building a healthy
ecosystem in which girls and women feel empowered to make healthy choices with respect
to menstruation.
Chaired and Moderated by activist and the Regional Coordinator, India of the Royal
Commonwealth Society, Shivani Wazir Pasrich, the panel featured educationists and
menstrual hygiene management experts to discuss the challenges within the education
sector, which included the need for separate toilets for boys and girls with access to clean
water, and the importance of advocating for better menstrual health practices at schools.
The panelists included Dr Bindu Rana, CEO and Founder of Millennium Education
Management, the largest education company in India, veteran educationist Lata
Vaidyanathan, Director, TERI Prakriti School, woman empowerment championRaseel
Gujraland Dr. Jennifer Butler, Deputy Regional Director, United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) Asia Pacific and OIC UNFPA India and Bhutan. UNFPA has been assisting
the Government of India in addressing adolescent health concerns, improving access to life
skills education and health services, strengthening delivery of SRH services and advancing
reproductive health and rights and preventing gender discrimination and harmful practices.
The Niine Movement and Niine Menstrual Awareness Conclave were conceived by social
entrepreneur Amar Tulsiyan. Speaking about the launch, founder Amar Tulsiyan said:
“Niine signifies the Nine months of beautiful journey towards motherhood which can only
take off after periods. Menstruation is a divine boon of nature which should be celebrated
and not be ashamed of. This is where the core philosophy of the campaign rests upon. “
With regards to the taboo surrounding menstruation, he added: “Menstrual hygiene
awareness is an issue that is severely under-represented in this country, as demonstrated
by the amount of women who still do not use proper menstrual hygiene products to manage
their periods. Even amongst the 18%, they lack awareness of the importance of using clean
sanitary napkins and not to reuse the product, which is why as part of our theory of change,
we need to enrol existing menstrual hygiene product users and those who don’t in a
supportive, taboo free environment to create an open forum for discussion and deliberation.
With Niine’s Menstrual Awareness Conclave, I am hopeful that we can inspire and motivate
everyone to support the cause as I believe that we can all make a difference and break the
taboo around menstruation by talking, educating and collaborating. That’s what the Niine
Movement is all about. ”
The Niine Movement is supported by Jagran Pehal and Radio City.
For further information on the Niine Movement or to join, log onto www.niine.com
-END-
For further information, please contact:
Niine Movement Press Office
Sterling Media
Tel: +44 207 801 0077
Email: niine@sterlingmedia.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
About the “Niine Movement”:
The Niine Movement is an ambitious 5-year plan that aims to tackle the taboos associated with menstruation by
engaging all genders and ages to step forward and join hands to promote the importance of menstrual hygiene
awareness. Understanding the need for collective effort to change mindsets, the Niine Movement intends to use
its convening power to engage multi-sector groups in India - from governments, corporates and the NGO
community - to sustain not only a discussion but encourage affirmative action on addressing menstrual hygiene
management. To achieve its vision, the Niine Movement’s theory of change adopts a three-pronged approach by:
Educating girls, women, boys and men of good menstrual hygiene practices.
Enrollingcitizens and existing menstrual hygiene product users in a supportive, taboo free environment
to create an open forum for discussion and deliberation.
Enhancingthe sanitation sector of India by providing the best quality menstrual hygiene products at
appropriate prices.
Reflecting its vision for a new and better Swachh Bharat, which begins and is driven by girls and woman, Niine
also reflectsnine core ways a nation can achieve its full potential if we support menstruating girls and women,
using the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the 17 goals that world leaders agreed to
achieving by 2030 to end world poverty, tackle climate change and reduce inequalities, as an index. Niine
advocates a multi-sector approach to achieving the goals it has set out, engaging governments, corporates,
media, talent, not for profits and civil society to create sustained impact.
Website: www.niine.com Facebook: @niinemovement
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