#2 Menstrual hygiene market in India — the demand side
India is supposedly the fastest growing market for menstrual hygiene in the world. Sales of sanitary napkins in India have doubled every…
India is supposedly the fastest growing market for menstrual hygiene in the world. Sales of sanitary napkins in India have doubled every five years since 2002. As is the case with such leadlines, this is not the full story. In this post, I explore the demand for menstrual hygiene products — who asks for what and how that affects their lives.
India is supposedly the fastest growing market for menstrual hygiene products (i.e., pads/tampons/menstrual cups/etc). And yet, we buy <5% of the sanitary napkins compared to China even though we have a similar potential “market” size (i.e. the number of women). This is not that jarring given China is richer and more developed than us. Countries with higher per capita income also tend to have higher use of commercial menstrual products. Within India too, commercial menstrual product use is correlated with development — Women in the highest wealth quintile are 4X times more likely to use a commercial product such as pads or tampons compared to the lowest wealth quintile; 81% well-educated women use commercial products compared to 20% among women who’ve never been to school; 78% urban women use commercial products compared with 48% in rural areas.
Most (62%) Indian women in my age-group still use cloths. In contrast, I am among the 2.4% minority of women aged 15–24 who use tampons. There’s little that we share except the important fact that we both bleed. They are likelier to live in rural areas, while I live in the metropolitan city of Delhi. I enjoy privileges associated with being the fourth generation of an educated, upper caste family while women who use cloths are likelier to be from communities identified as Scheduled Tribe or Schedule Caste or Other Backward Classes in India. A woman from my wealth bracket is 4X more likely to use a tampon compared to a woman who is in the lowest wealth bracket. Just 13% women in the lowest wealth bracket use sanitary napkins compared to almost about 71% women in the highest wealth bracket.
Not all menstrual hygiene products are equally good (but most could be better). Women may use multiple products on their periods. Personally, I use tampons because they win on convenience — it’s less messy and offers more mobility. ~42% women use sanitary napkins and 16% use locally prepared napkins. About 62% users in India will use a thick cloth (often stripped from an old shirt or sari) and tie it to their panties. While it is possible to safely reuse cloths, typical practice risks overflow, is culpable to stain, reduces ones’ mobility and is highly correlated with infections. This explains why women who use home-made products such as cloths have lower school attendance (40%) compared with their peers who use commercial products (72% attendance). Any safe reuse of cloths requires women to wash them regularly with clean water and soap — things often restricted from Indian women due to social and cultural reasons. Cloths need to be dried in the sunlight to be disinfected but this is difficult for women given menstruation is relegated to hidden, private corners given the stigma it continues to carry in our society. And rarely do Indian women have the private space to wash and dry blood stained cloths out in the open where neighbors and strangers can see visible proof of menstruation.
When it comes to the taboo associated with menstruation, Indian society shares it across income and class. Most of my male friends are unable to have a non-awkward conversation about periods. Our country released its first tampon ad just five years ago and it was basically a tampon 101. Even today, women — especially caste women — are deemed “impure” during periods and suspended from “purer” spheres such as the temple and kitchen. Periods therefore become a marginalized experience mostly endured in private but also sometimes in community with other women comrades.
Excerpt: “I grew up in a pretty religious Sanatanist Hindu family in Trinidad. It was therefore not uncommon to hear comments about someone being unclean, and having it explained to me that: “The blood is dirty, and puja things have to be clean, so you can’t touch anything for the puja.” I used to help my mom set up everything for puja. When she “wasn’t clean,” I did almost all the preparations myself, following her instruction. Sometimes, I too would not be clean, but out of habit, I would still touch things. I might wash a thali (platter) or pass the sugar from the aunties making sweet rice in the kitchen to my mom setting up in the living room. I would exclaim, “Oh I touched it! I’m not clean,” but my mom would dismiss it, “It’s alright. Didn’t you wash your hands?” or “Don’t worry about it.” Perhaps it was this dismissal that planted the seed of doubt in my mind about how necessary it was to adhere to these practices of purity. This doubt has matured; I am no longer religious.”
So.. should we just wait for economic growth to render women the access to safe menstrual products? We must refuse such a lazy answer.
In a future post, I want to explore the supply side of this story: Who sells menstrual products in India? How can we bring the price down? What else can we do? Shout at me if you have thoughts about this!
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Notes:
I acknowledge that menstruation is not specific to any one gender. Many trans and gender diverse people may also have periods. In this article, I use women to include all people who experience menstruation but do not cover how trans and gender diverse people may experience this differently.
India has ~663mn women compared to ~687mn women in China.
I am 24 years old as I write this post.
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