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Bollywood actors are posing with pads to challenge taboos about menstruation

Started by Arunachalam Muruganantham, the #PadmanChallenge is taking over Twitter

Images Staff

02 Feb, 2018

With Padman close to release, Bollywood is taking part in the Padman challenge.

The challenge was started by Arunachalam Muruganantham, the man on whom the film is based.

The social entrepreneur took to Twitter to post a picture of himself holding a pad.

Said Muruhanantham in his tweet, "Yes that’s a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period."

To continue the #PadmanChallenge, he tagged Twinkle Khanna, Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in his post.

Twinkle Khanna responded to the challenge, tagging more of her Bolly friends.

Aamir Khan, usually not vocal on Twitter, was quick to join in, posting a picture of himself holding a pad and challenging SRK, Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

So did Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises.

Looks like Padman is making an impact before its release on February 9. We can't wait to see who else will join the challenge!

Comments

gopal Feb 02, 2018 07:04pm

Had there been no period, there would be no human being born. Period.

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N abidi Feb 02, 2018 08:27pm

Why are pak media covering this, the topic does not needs this level of coverage, with the reality people's are facing in pak! There are really important women issues that needs attention! If it was Pakistani artists ,pak media would not cover this topic! Reality check!

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N_Saq Feb 02, 2018 08:29pm

The idea is not to flaunt pads in everyone's face but to make people understand that women do get periods and it is okay to talk about it. The periods are a natural human body process so the women should not be looked down upon for it and men should understand women issues instead of beating them and imposing their will upon them. If you want to love a woman then you must first understand her physically and mentally and you will never go wrong. In fact you will love and understand your mother, wife, daughter, co-workers etc better and respect them.

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ASB Feb 02, 2018 08:50pm

a new chapter of modern era. such a big challenge when you will practice this on your media posts. but what is about the talk on shameful thing and its showing, i have to find the facts that why we have a shame or avoidance about some a natural things in our lives. their is a big discourse on this issue especially in our subcontinent. Modernists are trying to awake people up from old believing that that is a basic reason of today's gender problems such as harassment. it's a good try to stop the discrimination and harassment as we have lot of news in our society. In my opinion this kind of struggles is not a solution of the problem and a deep research about gender gaps and nature is needed to find the fundamentals of this issue. this is a new topic so that will take a time to understand the issue.

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jaredlee67 Feb 02, 2018 09:28pm

A more educated and civilized approach would have been preferred.

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Carol Lee Murphy Feb 02, 2018 09:42pm

Its natures cycle, thats all if women stopped having it the human race would end, so it is useful.

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Sara Feb 02, 2018 09:52pm

I do not need women need any of that 'help'. Pretty disgusting and thoroughly useless the way they think they are helping women. Thanks but no thanks.

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SIXER FROM CHAKWAL Feb 02, 2018 10:04pm

Women are posting pictures on Instagram with a sanitary pad quoting #PadManChallenge If you don’t flaunt things which are for personal hygiene, it doesn’t mean you’re ashamed, surely? I don’t get the point of it. I’d rather make a noise for these to be free. They’re way too expensive.

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Changez Khan Feb 02, 2018 11:20pm

Disgusting. What happened to privacy?

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nasr Feb 03, 2018 12:06am

Well it is a taboo still in the west too. I see a lot of people shopping them discreetly. Why we try to force to shun something which is so natural

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TRUTHBETOLD Feb 03, 2018 12:28am

@SIXER FROM CHAKWAL I get your point, but what may seem to us as frivolous celebrity fluff actually works over time to normalize and humanize things we have typically considered taboo and shameful. Celebrities do serve an important purpose in setting off a chain of events that have wide ranging consequences. Exactly how a celebrity endorsed ad works. You may not buy an item just because Brad Pitt endorses it, but it definitely catches your attention, and maybe down the line you'll think it's worth a try. If I went on tv and endorsed the same thing, you would just flip the channel, and of course, not give a second thought to the product. Ever.

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Vijay B. Feb 03, 2018 12:40am

Mensuration is a fact of life and should be accepted as a matter of fact just like some other bodily functions, nothing to hide or be ashamed of. Girls of course come to know of it on their own as they enter puberty, but it is boys who need to be educated about it by their parents in a sensible way so there is no stigma attached to it. Aside it is really unfair that women are saddled with this added burden and expense from their teens to their fifties. They need understanding and acceptance and not any shunning or isolation during that time of the month, as is unfortunately practiced among many communities around the world.

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schali Feb 03, 2018 12:50am

@jaredlee67: Like what? How is this not civilized? If you are disturbed just to look at a clean pad, you missed the message of the campaign!! I think our biology curriculum in high schools should include at least some discussion on topics such as menstrual cycle, child birth etc to sensitize male students to women's health and hygiene issues and feel normal about human life cycle.

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Masoud Feb 03, 2018 01:25am

In a way this act of displaying ladies pads is a violation of women privacy, this is somewhat insulting.

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Vijay B. Feb 03, 2018 01:43am

Before someone else points it out let me admit my faux pas. Yes I misspelled "Menstruation" Mensuration as I spelled it is the art of measuring. I was confused in 6th grade too. LOL. Now I know better. Easy to get confused no?

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Raja Feb 03, 2018 04:27am

The inventor has helped many self help groups in the rural areas . Pakistan must import or learn to manufacture this product for the rural women.

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Vijay B. Feb 03, 2018 10:02am

@schali you are spot on about high school curriculums including some of these very pertinent topics

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sadaf Feb 03, 2018 10:54am

how is this relevant in Pakistan can somebody explain.

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Kamran Haq Feb 03, 2018 12:44pm

@sadaf aren't there women in some Pakistani areas who also do not have access to these facilities

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Mrs. Khan Feb 03, 2018 02:20pm

This is abusing majority of women privacy. Who gave them the right to expose our privacy in such shameful way? And What a ridiculous idea to spread awareness this way. Those who do not understand this very natural process how flaunting pads like this will make them understand?

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Saba Feb 03, 2018 04:38pm

Reading the comments, one can makeout why this campaign is important. Even a clean cotton pad shown by woman in campaign, disgusts and shames audience. Excuses are thrown of woman privacy etc. Sorry this ain't somone's personal product..but store bought public ones used in advertizement, campaigned for shunning taboo. So that next time one goes to shop to buy, she/he isn't ashamed.

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Sarmad Hassan Feb 03, 2018 07:06pm

I think shame has died and shameless nation has brought new way to have shame which is in fact no shame.

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Shanzayrana Feb 03, 2018 09:57pm

Disgusting it's really shameful to expose every where although it's natural process but we should not encourage it I don't think we need any kind of help of this totally private and personal issue.its totally shameless

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nasr Feb 05, 2018 09:07am

It is one more way the multinational can increase the sale of their product. After all they are now running Pads ads on Pakistan TV which sometime for me becomes very awkward while as a son I am sitting along with my mother watching TV.

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mudatha Feb 05, 2018 01:15pm

@nasr saab, the irony is that this awareness campaign is required because people like you exist and make women feel ashamed of something that is a natural function of a woman's body.

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