- The Tea Cycle is a unique infusion calendar with 28 tea sachets, i.e. a different tea for every day of the period
- The average duration of menstruation is 28 days, with on average five days of bleeding.
NE HEALTH BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, APR 23
Due to cultural beliefs, gender inequality and stigmatization – millions of girls and women, are unable to manage their menstrual cycle in a dignified and healthy way. To catalyze awareness and action towards a world without period poverty and stigma, Unipads on Sunday launched a Tea Cycle with 28 tea sachets as the menstrual cycle, the average duration of which is 28 days, with on average five days of bleeding.
Unipads, which makes affordable reusable cloth napkins to ensure menstrual hygiene and works to address taboos associated with menstruation, has collaborated with Tea Promoters India to design an innovative Tea Cycle infusion calendar to raise awareness around menstruation and help women deal better with the natural phenomenon.
Crores of Indian women go through pain, cramps, headache, fatigue, and cravings during their monthly periods without really knowing what goes on inside their bodies. The body also undergoes biological changes during the periods, leaving many women confused. The lack of information leads to doubts and insecurities that follow them all their lives.
“Even in today’s age, menstruation is seen as a taboo subject. A lot of women have little or no understanding of periods and as a result, they don’t know how best to deal with them. Our innovative Tea Cycle calendar is to raise awareness around menstruation. It informs and guides women through each day of menstruation and the biological changes that take place. And the best is that it happens when they are relaxed and open to conversation, i.e. during teatime,” said Geeta Solanki, Founder, Unipads.
“It is a kit to discover with parents, partners, friends, and classmates and break beliefs that put their physical and mental health at risk. Greater awareness among women and girls also empowers them to have a healthier life. There is a clear need to continue campaigning to reduce taboos about menstruation,” Solanki said further.
The Tea Cycle is a unique infusion calendar with 28 tea sachets, i.e. a different tea for every day of the period. It allows girls and women to learn what their body is going through on that day and what symptoms they might experience. The 28 tea are created with ingredients that help them manage physical pain and other symptoms better. If needed, the tea cycle calendar will be distributed by Unipads through their NGO or CSR collaborations in the future.
Answering queries on price of its sanitary napkin and the government support for its campaign on menstruation, Solanki said, “Unipads reusable cloth sanitary pad kits cost 50 percent less than the branded sanitary napkins and affordable too. We have joined hands with NGOs and corporates in urban and rural areas to create awareness among school-college girls and poor women on bleeding with dignity. If we get any sponsor for this unique tea calendar, we will certainly distribute it free. And we do not get any support from the government to spread awareness on this vital hygiene issue.”
