Harry and Meghan: Don't send gifts, buy sanitary pads for Indian women

[demmiblue]

Source: CNN

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have ditched the traditional wedding gift registry. Instead, they're suggesting people donate to a charity that makes affordable sanitary pads for women in India.

The couple has asked for donations to a handful of charities instead of presents for their wedding in Windsor on Saturday, and the Mumbai-based Myna Mahila Foundation is the only foreign organization they have picked.

The charity aims to improve access to sanitary protection for women living in Mumbai's slums, providing them with pads that are both affordable and hygienic.

"[Menstruation] is a very natural body process, but still remains a big taboo in India," said Sumati Joshi, a worker at the charity. Grocery stores are often staffed by men, meaning women are ashamed to buy sanitary products.

That's where Myna steps in. The charity employs 15 local women to make the pads, providing them with stable and safe work, while busting myths and taboos. Another 50 women distribute the pads in the slums.

Read more: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/life-style/india-s-sari-clad-women-make-a-splash-at-prince-harry-meghan-markle-wedding/591671.html

[smirkymonkey]

1. How good of them!

What a admirable thing to do.

[quartz007]

2. I do recall from my childhood in India that..

when one of our women servants where menstruating, no one was supposed to touch anything they touched. I was too young to understand why, but that is exactly what I recall.

[EffieBlack]

28. Leviticus

I hope people don't get too judgmental about this since this is required in the very same book that folks point to as their source for hating gay people...

[calimary]

3. Nice!!!!!

[demmiblue]

4. Catherine, William + Harry - Heads Together - #oktosay

[flibbitygiblets]

5. This is incredible, and it's a worldwide problem. Girls can't attend school in poor countries

because they can't afford sanitary pads. I'd heard about that, but not about this.

Good for them for bringing this to the world's attention. Bravo.

[suffragette]

6. Meghan's making her mark. Very well done!

K&R

[tblue37]

7. How wonderful! nt

[iluvtennis]

8. Love it. Harry is definitely following in his mother's footsteps.

[Dawson Leery]

9. k/r

[demmiblue]

10. More:

Link to tweet

https://mynamahila.com/

[Shoonra]

11. Here is the link!

Here is the official link to Myna Mahila Foundation.

I would like to add that American prisons (and probably prisons in almost any country) have been less than generous in providing women prisoners with adequate pads and tampons, and if helping women in faraway India is not enough for you, you might consider doing something for the women in your local pits of penitence.

https://mynamahila.com/

[bobbieinok]

12. There's a youtube video re recommendation and pictures of the members attending the wedding

IIRC it's a video from BBC. It can be found searching youtube for videos about the wedding.

[Upthevibe]

13. Thank you to the lovely

couple! They could do sooo much good! Diana would truly be thrilled to see how her sons have turned out....

[lame54]

17. Seriously?...

This is an issue I didn't even know about 10 minutes ago
These women need this "handout" now
The fact that the most watched couple on the planet now is heading it up has lead to a discussion we were not having yesterday
That's how attitudes change

[smirkymonkey]

20. +1000

[demmiblue]

23. +2

[demmiblue]

19. The attitudes are changing because women are helping other women overcome the stigma.

There is an immense power/cultural differential here... unshelter yourself and try to understand the plight of others in terms of their own realities. Handout my arse.

[politicaljunkie41910]

25. I'm a woman and except for the part about the items not being accessible to women in prison,

I stand by my statement that it would be easier to change women's attitudes who are embarrassed to buy the product from a man at the grocery store, than for them to need them and not have them. I have no problem with contributing to those who cannot afford them and I'll forgo your lecture, since I contribute to a lot of charities. Sorry if I believe in empowering women and the saying, "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." Your response says that walking around 'soiled' is less embarrassing than buying a feminine product from a man, and I think that attitude can be changed rather quickly.

[demmiblue]

26. You have no idea what it is like to live there as a woman (and neither do I).

Empowering women means to empower them in ways that are effective in the communities in which they live. That is what is happening here.

As to this: "Your response says that walking around 'soiled' is less embarrassing than buying a feminine product from a man, and I think that attitude can be changed rather quickly." Just .

[politicaljunkie41910]

27. You misinterpreted that part of my response. Read it again; I just did. You're the one who has no

idea about what my past experiences are like. I was in the military, and also worked for the federal government after I got out. Both took me to some places where the chance for a hot shower was not always guaranteed. When you're faced with those types of situations or conditions, the last thing you're concerned about is the expression on the face of a store clerk when you're buying feminine hygiene products. Trust me. When you're living and working in close quarters, you'd take a cold shower rather than be funky, because your roommates and tent mates will let you know when you're funky, okay.

[demmiblue]

30. You are not them, they are not you.

Regardless, it sounds like you had a hard time in the military (I can't imagine). I honestly wish you well. Please consider, however, that this is their life... their whole life. This effort is a good thing.

[xxqqqzme]

39. They are not embarrassed to

purchase from a man or concerned about 'funk'(?). They are ashamed. There is ignorance and superstition attached to menstrual cycles. There is no education to explain the natural occurrence to girls. Girls usually quit school when they start their periods because the are shunned, bullied or made fun of. Plus sanitary products are not in ready supply and are often prohibitively expensive.

[luvtheGWN]

33. A little history regarding menstruation:

My late mother (born 1909) told me how awful it was for young women before sanitary pads were invented and available. They had to use what might be considered an adult-sized diaper, and wash the soiled ones in private (no hanging on the line for all to see). Even I (born 1948) was too embarrassed to go into the drug store as a teenager and purchase pads or tampons, because then EVERYONE would know I was having my period.....

It takes awhile for attitudes to change and there is an enormous difference between how we western world folks have evolved in our attitudes and those in south Asian and many African countries who we view as being YEARS behind us. There's nothing easy about it, pj. For now, I think it's great that Harry and Meghan support this particular charity.

[KitSileya]

37. Buying menstrual products in public isn't just surrounded by stigma,

It is also dangerous. The moment a woman is seen as unclean in India, she's fair game for sexual violence. India has a horrific rape culture. where men gang rape women and young girls, often to death, regularly. They do this often with impunity, because well, what can she expect if she travels on a bus with a male friend/goes home from school unchaperoned/displays brazen behavior such as buying menstrual products in public.

In neighboring Nepal, menstruating women aren't allowed in the house - and forget about red tent solidarity and safety, they are forced to sleep in outhouses, where they have no protection from men on rape rampages. Not being allowed to attend school while menstruating also destroys a girl's chance of an education, leaving her with few, if any opportunities beyond marriage. It is silly to think these attitudes stop at a border - in India too, the stigma on menstruation is very great.

https://www.worldpulse.com/en/community/users/bidya-subedi/posts/78790

"I was 14 when I had my first period. When I told my mother about my period, she asked me to stay in the bathroom. I still remember when I came out of the bathroom, the new arrangement of our home scared me. My brothers had left home, women gathered to see me, and each room in our house was darkened. Like my mother and other women and girls in my community, I was forbidden to sleep in a bed, to see or touch men or to pray for several days. As a Hindu girl, I had to stay away from domestic activities and festivals during my period.

The first three periods are the worst because the restrictions are stricter and harder to follow as you are expected to hide for several weeks, separate from your family and the rest of the world. Today, many girls in Nepal, both rural and urban areas, miss school because of this practice. I was fortunate to stay at home while many girls and women in Western Nepal are forced to live in a shed, away from their family. The practice of isolating women and girls during menstruation is called Chhaupadi. In 2005, the Nepalese Supreme Court made Chhaupadi illegal, but cultural tradition is strong, and it is therefore still widely practiced in Western Nepal. In addition to cultural taboos and practices, Nepali schools lack the infrastructure to address the needs of women and girls. When I was completing my high school in Nepal, my school did not have proper door locks, water, or a trashcan in the girl’s toilets. This meant that girls didn’t have privacy and they had to bring someone along with them to guard the door."

(my bolding)

[tymorial]

40. Unbelievable nt

[DFW]

15. Modern Royals

If their actions reflect their sentiments, and vice versa, the Royals will continue to be popular with the Brits for generations to come.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread demmiblue

[Hekate]

18. Yes! I think I like this couple!

[dembotoz]

21. Yep

[Hekate]

24. I remember reading about that charity. This is also a desperate need in refugee camps...

Women are unable to join food lines on behalf of their children, or anything else, for 1/4 of the time. Sure you can use rags, but you also need water, which is in short supply.

When I got a tour of the Direct Relief International warehouse several years ago, I asked if they included menstrual supplies, and I believe they do.

[Owl]

22. Fab!

[EffieBlack]

29. Interesting that Harry, his brother and their wives probably have done more to improve the world in

the last year than many of the "royalty sucks and Harry and William are lazy, entitled oligarchs" detractors have done in a lifetime.

These young people didn't pick their family or ask to be born into royalty. But they have stepped up and delivered. I admire them.

[Devil Child]

32. I'm starting to drift to your line of thinking

I'm a royal skeptic and cynic but can't find fault in what I am seeing and reading this day. Thank you for the reminder to look at actions.

[JI7]

35. and i think that's one of the reasons the royals still have support there

and unlike many in the US the Brits would never tolerate them behaving the way Trump and his shitty ass family does here.

Diana was loved because she loved being among the people . not because of red carpet events and what she wore.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

42. Diana made sure to take her sons to visit third world countries to expand their worldview.

She didn't want them to grow up sheltered from the realities of the world. She also believed in taking fun outings with her kids (my favorite picture is of the three of them an a log flume ride at an amusement park). The princes have grown up to be remarkable young men with strong wives who are leading the royalty into the 21st Century.

I can't imagine what it must be like to be a little black girl watching that wedding ceremony. It's not so much the "marrying a prince" fantasy, but the acceptance of their culture by a formerly all-white bastion of privilege. The world isn't going to change overnight because of one marriage ceremony, but life is made up of possibilities, and Harry and Meghan just opened up a new realm of possibilities for young girls (and boys) of color. If this impossible thing can happen, the message seems to be, then anything is possible. Hope is what makes life bearable; dreams are what make life worth getting up each day.

I wish them a long and happy life together, and the paparazzi can go fuck themselves.

[Raine]

31. Wonderful..

good for them!

[Wounded Bear]

34. Classy move...

[Demovictory9]

36. great

[lillypaddle]

38. Now that's pretty damn cool

[Lil Missy]

41. Very useful - no shame in that.

[efhmc]

43. I am most definitely not a royal fan, but I donated to this cause.

What I would like is a link to help incarcerated women in the US. I can find links for shelters but not prisons.