Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; January 14, 2018)

Sonam Kapoor, who stars alongside Akshay Kumar in the upcoming drama Padman, which is based on the life of social activist Arunachalam Muruganantham — who invented a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine — questions why menstruation is a severely taboo subject in our country. The actress shares that only a minuscule percentage of women in the country has access to sanitary pads and even urban women who have the means, fall prey to societal taboos.

Sonam tells BT, “In India, we treat sanitary pads as a luxury. Only 12 per cent of Indian women have access to it and are aware about menstrual hygiene. That’s a scary statistic. When you go to a local shop, they will cover the pads in a newspaper and give it to you. If, by chance, a tampon falls out of your bag, then you feel embarrassed about it. Why are we so embarrassed about it? Why do we hide a sanitary pad behind our back and go into a bathroom? Why are we scared of the repercussions of people finding out that we get our period? Why do we have this subliminal fear? I realised that even I had some misconceptions but now, I’ve decided that I’ll openly discuss menstruation and say that I am on my period; that I am PMS-ing, so stay away!”