London-based Aritex Biotech join hands with PRAG India to spread awareness on menstrual health

In their consistent efforts to open up conversations around menstruation and menstrual health, Public Relations and Advocacy Group (PRAG) has joined hands with UK-based Aritex Biotech to survey the outlook and awareness on menstruating individuals in India.

Despite being a natural biological process, menstruation is a topic that is rarely mentioned in Indian households, which often leads to poor menstrual hygiene and a lack of knowledge of a woman’s reproductive health.

With this collaboration, PRAG, an Indian start-up based in Haryana’s Gurugram, will help UK’s Aritex Biotech - a leading innovator in feminine hygiene products - conduct extensive research on menstrual health awareness in urban and rural Indian households.

Dr Tony Bairstow, Director Aritex Ltd, said: “Aritex Biotech UK is delighted to announce a collaborative agreement with Public Relations & Advocacy Group, India (PRAG). The discussion of menstruation has always been limited in every society, despite it being a normal and necessary bodily function. Aritex Biotech, as a research and development company of period products, acknowledges the vital work that PRAG is doing to improve our understanding of women's concerns and promote the acceptance of women's needs by governments and other organizations.”

To introduce Aritex Biotech to the Indian landscape, PRAG will work on all the logistics, help conduct surveys, and spread awareness on social media about menstrual products and menstrual health.

Gaurav Gautam, founder, and CEO, PRAG said: “We are extremely proud of this collaboration with Aritex Biotech in understanding the Indian outlook on menstruation and menstrual health. This issue is very close to our hearts and we, at PRAG, want to open up discussions around this topic so any individual who menstruates does not feel uncomfortable saying that they need to rest on their periods.”

For the same reason, he added, PRAG became one of the very few organizations which made menstrual leaves mandatory and paid and began its #Right2Rest campaign to spread awareness on menstrual health.

On March 22, 2018, PRAG organized a roundtable discussion with MPs from different political parties, senior journalists, Human Resource specialists, radio jockeys, and industrialists, wherein, the journey of #Right2Rest began.

Following the discussion, Ninong Ering, a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh tabled the ‘Menstruation Benefits Bill’, which laid down a proposal for two days of paid menstrual leave to every woman working in the public and private sectors.

The Bill kickstarted several discussions about menstruation leave for individuals who bleed and PRAG continues to spread awareness on menstrual health and hygiene with its #Right2Rest campaign.