CRUSADER FOR MENSTRUAL HEALTH

SHE has possessed a knack for venturing off the beaten path since childhood.

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Even amidst her tumultuous life journey, Rakhi Gangwar, aged 35, refused to confine herself to the classroom upon donning the teacher’s cap. Driven by an innate desire to address social issues, she established a ‘pad bank’ aimed at assisting thousands of women, particularly those in rural areas.

teaching in the small primary school of Bauriya village, located in the Badhpura block of Bareilly, Rakhi embraced this endeavour as a personal ‘mission.’

Her goal extended beyond merely spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene; she endeavoured to provide free sanitary pads to women and adolescent girls through her initiative of the ‘pad bank’.

Initially, Rakhi funded this initiative single-handedly, purchasing sanitary napkins from her own pocket without external financial aid. However, as her campaign gained traction, the Gorakhpur-based sanitary pad manufacturing firm ‘Niine’ stepped in to support.