A day-long conclave of social activists organized here saw participants laying emphasis on the use of sanitary napkin by women.
"The conclave was organised yesterday by the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) cell of Vadodara district Collectorate, in collaboration with the Federation of Gujarat Industries (FGI).
"Several important prominent figures like social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, former MP Priyanka Dutt, Gujarat CSR Authority Chairman Maheshwar Sahu took part in the event," Vadodara District Collector Avantika Singh said.
Padma Shri recipient Arunachalam Muruganatham, who is the inventor of a low-cost sanitary napkin manufacturing machine, and has been at the forefront of increasing its accessibility in the country, said, "We have set up 2,004 centres across the country and manufacture various brands of sanitary napkins, through which we employ 24,000 women. The napkins are made available to women at a cheaper rate."
"Menstruation is a subject that has culturally been considered a taboo and is entrenched with misconceptions and disregard, with little cognisance of the hazards of inadequate menstrual protection. It is necessary to create nationwide awareness among women about this," Avantika Singh said.
Priya Dutt asked corporate houses to adopt one village each and make CSR an integral part of their philosophy and business. "This would have a positive impact on the society and the environment in which they operate," she said.
She said efforts of business houses should be towards ensuring sustainable development, including education, health, environment etc.
Seema Rath, Deputy Director, CSR under the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, spoke in detail on the CSR policy of the government.
