Arunachalam Muruganantham, or Muruga, is a man whose invention changed the lives of millions of women across India.
In 1998, Muruganantham noticed that his newly-wed wife, Shanti was hiding something behind her back. He asked her “what is it?” and she replied instantly by slapping him on his cheek and said “It’s none of your business“. He got curious and ran behind her to see what was in her hand and eventually found out that his wife was using old rags to manage her periods.
Muruganantham wanted to help Shanti, so he started making his own sanitary pads with cotton wool and tape. He asked her to test them, but she didn’t like it. So he decided to research more and make a better pad. However, since it could be checked by his wife only once a month, he thought it would take a very long time to conduct his research. Therefore he went out and asked female medical students to try the pads. The students were too embarrassed to give feedback to him, so he decided to test it on himself. He made a ‘uterus‘ from rubber bladder filled with animal blood and wore it with the sanitary pad.
Soon, people started calling him a “pervert” and he became an outcast in his community. Shanti told him to stop his research, but he did not stop. When it became too much for Shanti to bear, she decided to leave him. She thought leaving him would bring him back to his senses and he would stop, but he got even more serious.
Muruga continued his research in secret. It took him several years to find the right material and to perfect the process. He made his own machine that helped to increase the creation of sanitary pads, and also created jobs for rural women in India.
So far, over 1300 machines in 27 states across India have been installed and exports to other countries across the globe have begun as well.
And his wife? She came back to him after 5 long years of separation.
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