Thousands of women stayed across the 47 relief camps put up under the Alappuzha municipality during the Kerala floods of 2018. The authorities, while dealing with the waste coming from the camps, had to decide what to do with the sacks of sanitary napkins used by the women there. They’d have to incinerate it or add it to the already-piled-up tonnes of plastic waste. That’s when they began thinking of alternatives for the future. Menstrual cups, spoken about in a few circles and discussed in whispers, came up as the solution they were looking for.
On Saturday, 15 June, Minister Thomas Isaac inaugurated the Thinkal Menstrual Cup project in Alappuzha. 5,000 cups, funded by the CSR Initiative of Cola India Ltd, will be given away to women, free of charge.