Coronavirus: Private firm distributes sanitary napkins to poor

In a bid to help women maintain personal hygiene, a private firm manufacturing sanitary napkins, on Tuesday said it has managed to distribute 80,000 pieces of the product to the needy ones across the Delhi-NCR and Punjab during the coronavirus lockdown.

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The Indian home-grown sanitary napkin brand Paree said it decided to reach out to women in need and introduced the initiative #SheFirst because they believe that #PadsAreEssential.

Under the campaign, 80,000 sanitary napkins have been distributed across Delhi-NCR and Punjab, the firm said in a statement.

Talking about the campaign, Paree‘s CEO and founder Sahil Dharia said, “As a brand, I want to assure each woman that at the time of crisis, we are with you, you can trust us. We are proud to have support from Punjab Police, CII IWN (Confederation of Indian Industry-Indian Women Network), Rasoi on Wheels and many others.

According to the statement, Sania Nehwal, one of the shareholders of the brand Paree, supported the campaign and added,“I am so glad that people have realised the importance of the availability of sanitary napkins and have come forward to help women who are struggling with the lack of menstrual essentials".

CII IWN chairwoman Rinki Dhingra, added, "Women across segments in India have struggled to gain access to the basics, with menstrual hygiene products being the most elusive to them. I am glad that corporations like Paree have stepped in with their foresight and initiative to distribute free sanitary pads to the women workforces who are most in need".

Supporting the campaign on ground, Rasoi-on-Wheels’ co-founder Maneka Badhwar said, “Menstrual hygiene, I feel, is a huge issue for women across socio-economic groups during this time and I pledge to play my part in helping them. I pledge that #PadsAreEssential with Paree's #SheFirst initiative.”

The campaign is active in cities like Punjab, Delhi, Gurgaon through various channels and so far Paree have supplied sanitary napkins to areas across Delhi/ NCR and districts of Punjab.