Film Review: Erasing Menstruation Myths Through the Film Pad Man

"If the heart is clean, everything will be clean," said Gayatri when her husband, Lakshmikant Chauhan, scolded her for using dirty cloth during menstruation. Lakshmi felt so upset and sad when she found out that her beloved wife was using dirty cloth instead of sanitary napkins. The cloth was so dirty that Lakshmi was even reluctant to use it to wash her bicycle. Most women in India have the same fate as Gayatri. Research reveals that 89% women in India still use cloth during menstruation, the remaining 2% use cotton (2%), 7% use sanitary napkins, and 2% use ash during menstruation (Pallapothu, 2018). It is not a problem if the cloth used is clean. However, it will be a problem when the cloth used is dirty cloth that is washed carelessly and then dried without direct sunlight. Myths, misunderstandings, and stigma in India about menstruation that blind women's health are issues that are trying to be raised in the film Pad Man.

Pad Man is a film inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganatham. He is a social activist from a small village in Tamil Nadu who introduced low-cost sanitary napkins for women in India. The idea for the low-cost sanitary napkins came from Muruga's concern about his wife using dirty cloths during menstruation. Director R. Balki adapted the life story of Muruga and his wife into the story of the couple Lakhsmi and Gayatri. Their married life begins to be tested when the husband begins to question his wife's unhealthy menstrual practices.

Padman is an interesting film because it is brave enough to demonstrate unhealthy menstrual practices in India as a consequence of myths, misunderstandings, and negative stigmas about menstruation. So far, discussions about women, women's bodies, especially women's bodily fluids in India have not been common topics to discuss, even considered disgusting or often used as misogynistic comedy material. One of the myths about menstruation that is believed in India is that used menstrual cloth has evil powers. If a man sees the cloth, either dry or otherwise, the man can lose his ability to see, aka blindness. Another myth is that if a dog, snake, or cow finds used menstrual cloth that must be disposed of by burying it in the ground, then the user of the cloth will not be able to get pregnant (Garg, Goyal, & Grupta, 2012).

These two myths require women to find hidden places to store cloth, which are often quite dark, damp, and unhygienic. Washing and drying menstrual cloth must also be done secretly, so that no one can see the cloth. This is practiced by Gayatri at the beginning of the film, she dries the menstrual cloth that she has just washed under other clothes. Drying the cloth without exposure to sunlight makes the menstrual cloth damp. The use of this damp cloth has the potential to cause serious health problems, such as reproductive tract infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, bacteria, cervical cancer, HIV/AIDS, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and even death (Garg et al, 2012).

In addition to myths, women in India also have to face negative stigmas about menstruation. Hindus in India consider menstruation as something dirty or can pollute a person's purity (Garg et al, 2012). This then gave rise to various types of prohibitions against women during menstruation. Gayatri and her sister-in-law were not allowed to leave the house, including to the market or to school. Women must isolate themselves, are not allowed to do housework, attend religious activities, attend religious activities, marriages, have sex, or even touch male family members at home (Garg et al, 2012). This rule applies as long as the dirty blood is still coming out of the woman's body, which lasts approximately five to seven days. If violated, Indian society believes that there will be a disaster. This means, let's say menstruation lasts for five days, women in India lose 60 days or 2 months of productive time in one year just because of menstruation.

As a husband, Laksmi felt sorry for his wife having to isolate herself during her period. He finally decided to buy Gayatri sanitary napkins at a pharmacy where the transaction was almost the same as drug trafficking or human organs. Sanitary napkins in India are sold at high prices. This makes sanitary napkins an exclusive item that can only be accessed by certain social classes. Handing over sanitary napkins must be done secretly and as far as possible without being known by others. Lakshmi's hard work in buying sanitary napkins ended in anger from Gayatri. She asked her husband to immediately return the sanitary napkins to the place where he bought them. Apart from the high price, Gayatri's reason was that she was afraid of her mother-in-law who would definitely be furious and blame her if she found out that her son was meddling in women's affairs, especially regarding menstruation.

Lakshmi racked her brains and found a way for Gayatri to live healthily with sanitary napkins without having to worry about the expensive price. She took the initiative to make her own sanitary napkins from cotton, cloth, and glue. However, limited knowledge meant that Lakshmi's homemade sanitary napkins always failed. Gayatri, who had been Lakshmi's guinea pig for trying out her homemade sanitary napkins, was tired and asked her husband to stop. No longer supported by Gayatri, Lakshmi asked her neighbors to try out her homemade sanitary napkins. Of course, Lakshmi's request immediately caused a commotion throughout the settlement.

Masculinity and patriarchal culture that are thick in Indian society are shown in this film. Lakshmi's mother was furious when she found out that her son not only thought about but also made sanitary napkins for Gayatri. Men are considered not allowed to know and interfere in women's affairs, especially menstruation. The stigma attached to men who are interested in women's affairs is that they are perverts or lewd. One by one the neighbors began to distance themselves until finally they agreed to expel Lakshmi who was considered to have a sexual disorder. Gayatri was blamed by her in-laws for this expulsion. She was considered to have a bad influence on Lakshmi. Gayatri and Lakshmi, who were considered a newly married couple, finally decided to separate.

Being banished from her hometown did not dampen Lakshmi's spirit. Her ambition grew even bigger. She not only wanted to create cheap sanitary napkins for her wife, but also for her younger sister and all women in India. In addition to low education and health awareness, poverty is another reason why women in India, especially those living in rural areas or remote areas, do not have access to sanitary napkins. For that reason, Lakshmi aspired to create a simple machine that could produce sanitary napkins at a low price. Lakshmi then started going around to various universities to develop her idea, browsing the internet, until finally meeting Pari Walia.

Pari is the daughter of a professor who became Lakhsmi's partner in promoting Lakshmi's cheap sanitary napkins. The method offered by Pari was to recruit housewives to sell the sanitary napkins using the door-to-door method. This method was quite successful. In addition to successfully expanding the reach of users of cheap sanitary napkins, recruiting housewives also made them financially independent. Pari also asked Lakhsmi to showcase her machine at an innovation exhibition in Delhi. Long story short, Lakshmi's invention was recognized as the 'Life-Changing Innovation of the Year' by the judges. Her machine was distributed to all villages in India and succeeded in making it easier for women to access cheap, hygienic sanitary napkins. Without Pari, Lakshmi might have ended up as a pervert in the eyes of society.

Menstrual stigma and menstrual management are two important issues related to women, which are often inversely related to each other. The greater the stigma in society, the worse the menstrual management. Johnston Robledo and Chrisler argue that menstrual stigma can be challenged through popular culture. Examples include the work of artists Vanessa Tiegs and Petra Paul, both of whom use menstrual blood on canvas to create beautiful and engaging artworks, Harry Finley’s virtual museum where he collects women’s stories and cultural artifacts about menstruation, Ani DiFranco’s (1993) Blood in the Boardroom, and Inunt Muscio’s (2002) book. Pad Man is an important addition to the existing repertoire.

Through the film Pad Man, the message that is to be conveyed is that the problems that occur in women's lives, such as the negative stigma of menstruation and unhealthy menstrual practices, are not only the responsibility of women to solve. It requires the involvement of all parties, including men, to solve these problems. Social change and transformation of attitudes regarding topics that are considered taboo such as menstruation can occur if men participate in it. Pad Man invites men to participate in fighting unhealthy menstrual practices. If western countries have superheroes such as Spider Man, Batman, and Antman, then India has Pad Man. Pad Man reveals that not all superheroes need shooting scenes, dramatic entries, or broken bones. Ordinary people can become superheroes with extraordinary innovations that have a big impact on human life.

Reference

Garg, R., Goyal, S., & Gupta, S. (2012). India moves towards menstrual hygiene: Subsidized sanitary napkins for rural adolescent girls – issues and challenges. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 16(4), 767–774.

Johnston-Robledo, I., & Chrisler, J. C. (2013). The menstrual mark: Menstruation as social stigma. Sex Roles, 68(1–2), 9–18.

Singh, Shailendra Kumar. 2019. Interrogating Stigma: Menstrual Management and Maternal Masculinity in R. Balki's Padman, Women's Reproductive Health, 6:2, 118-127.