With Sanitary Pad Sponsorship, an IPL Team Will Fight Stigma around Periods

Cricketers from an Indian Premier League team, Rajasthan Royals, will have a logo of a sanitary pad brand on their jerseys to fight the stigma around menstruation. 

The Rajasthan Royals, whose players include internationals like Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler, is the first major sports to sign a sponsorship deal with a sanitary pad company. The team has signed up a deal with an Indian company, Niine. 

According to Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Operating Officer of Rajasthan Royals, there is a lack of general awareness on periods in India in men and women as well. 

For many women in South Asia, especially adolescent girls, menstruation is uncomfortable and shameful. During periods, they are considered as dirty and impure and face discrimination for the same reason. For instance, they are not allowed to enter the kitchen, temples, and don’t have permission to prepare certain dishes.

According to Niine, of 350 millions menstruating Indian women, only about 8 million use sanitary pads during their menstruation

The rest of the women use unhygienic and traditional methods, such as dirty rags or leaves due to affordability and lack of awareness.

On last Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also talked on menstrual hygiene and drew widespread praise on social media platforms. Social Entrepreneur and the founder of Niine, Amar Tulsiyan, said that one of the major aims of this sponsorship deal was to spread awareness among the men who control family expenditure on several family items, including sanitary products.

A father or brother or son in the family should really acknowledge whether the women in the family are using sanitary napkins or not,” he said in a telephonic interview. The Niine logo on the players of Rajasthan Royal will surely attract the attention of millions of IPL fans.