Meet Rajpal Kaur, A Woman From Punjab Who Is Empowering Other Women And Breaking Menstrual Taboos

When I say I am a feminist, I mean that I want equality. I don’t blame all men for the plight of women and I definitely don’t hate them. That being said, I do hold the rigid patriarchal system responsible. It has caged women and led us to believe that we are weak and inferior. But not anymore. Now, it’s time for women to break stereotypes and stand up for themselves. Just like this woman we are talking about today did. She was a homemaker who wanted to do more. She seized every opportunity and now she is busting menstruation stigmas in her village in Punjab. This woman is a role model.

Rajpal Kaur was a stay-at-home mother who always wanted to be employed. But because there weren’t any career opportunities for women in her village in Ludhiana, Punjab, she was forced to be a homemaker. One day, out of the blue, she came across a possible job opportunity as a cook at a sports facility. She would earn Rs 8,000 a month and enjoyed cooking meals for the children. Her story only gets better from here.

After experiencing a little financial stability, Rajpal wanted all her friends from her village to get similar opportunities. And so, about two years ago, when she heard that the company she was working for wanted to set up a sanitary pad-making unit in the Aloona Tola village, she started rounding up all her friends. These women though were embarrassed to be connected to such a project because of the stigma attached to menstruation. But Rajpal convinced them by saying that not only would this opportunity help them earn some money but it would also give them easy access to menstrual health products. This was much-needed.

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Rajpal then formed a self-help group (SHG) of 11 people. Five of them made the sanitary pads while the others made pickles. Talking about her venture, Rajpal said, “Initially, we had to give away pads for free. But things have started looking up as we are now receiving bulk orders.” Recently their SHG received a massive order of 600 sanitary pads from a girls’ high school in Ludhiana and another for 1,000 pads from a school in Mohali. Rajpal’s SHG is also distributing free meals and masks amid the pandemic. Her aim is to empower as many women as possible.

We need more women like Rajpal. Her efforts have helped so many women become financially stable and get educated about menstrual health. More power to her!

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