New Bollywood film tackles the taboo of menstrual hygiene
NEW DELHI (AP) — Bollywood's latest cinematic offering tackles a subject that is taboo in deeply conservative India: menstrual hygiene.
"Padman" is out in theaters Friday and stars Indian action star Akshay Kumar in the lead role of a man who starts manufacturing cheaply made sanitary pads after he discovers his wife's lack of access to them in a small town in south India.
The subject of menstruation and menstrual hygiene is rarely, if ever, discussed openly in Indian homes. In many homes women are barred from temples and religious rituals as well as cooking or entering the kitchen when they have their period.