Sanitary pad record in India to promote menstrual hygiene
Participants at a medical congress in India have set a new Guinness World Record for the longest line of sanitary pads, in a move aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene.
Five hundred people at the 62nd All India Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AICOG) took seven and a half hours to lay out 10,105 sanitary pads in a line 1,078 metres (3,537 feet) long.
The feat in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, verified by Guinness World Record officials, also included the shape of a uterus under the slogan “Nothing’s more cuterus than your uterus”.
“Sanitary pads are required for every woman for her hygiene. Hygiene is so important otherwise they will have a lot of pelvic infections, urinary infections and all those problems are there,” gynaecologist Geeta Pramod Shanbhag told AFP.
According to a National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report published in 2017, only 58 per cent of women in India aged 15 to 24 use a hygienic method of menstrual protection, the Hindu daily reported.
In July 2018, India withdrew a controversial tax on sanitary pads following a vocal campaign led by activists and Bollywood stars to boost female education and empowerment.
One study by WaterAid and Unicef found that more than a third of girls in South Asia missed school during their periods.