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Anjana Kumal (left) and Maya Devi Sunar putting final touches on reusable cloth pad at the Miteri Jaibik Pad Udhyog factory in Chitwan. Photo: Bibek Bhandari

A factory in Nepal is challenging traditional views on menstruation. A small women-run factory in southern Nepal is driving a growing movement to replace conventional menstrual pads with biodegradable alternatives – part of grass roots efforts to protect women’s health and the environment while dismantling entrenched taboos around menstruation.

The Miteri Jaibik Pad Udhyog (Miteri eco-friendly pad factory) in Chitwan district’s Gunjanagar has been manufacturing single-use biodegradable pads and reusable cloth pads since 2017, dispelling perceptions that such products are either costly or unhygienic.

Called Miteri – or “chosen kinship” in Nepali – the pads offer women healthier choices while raising awareness about the high environmental footprint of disposable non-biodegradable pads and encouraging what some advocates call “green menstruation”.

Radha Paudel, a nurse turned advocate for dignified menstruation, started the pad factory along with Chitwan-based Active Women’s Forum for Justice. She is also the founder of Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation.

I grew up seeing women use unhygienic cloths during menstruation. I always wanted to start a social enterprise that upheld a menstruator’s dignity, that is good for the planet and also affordable. -Radha Paudel

That philosophy is put into practice inside a tin-roof factory, where a single machine produces about 8,000 pads daily. They are made using pinewood pulp sheet and cotton, with bioplastic packaging, ensuring the entire product is biodegradable.

Calls to promote eco-friendly pads in Nepal come at a time amid growing concerns globally over the safe disposal of menstrual products. Several studies show that tampons and pads are made up of up to 90 per cent plastic and usually take 500 to 800 years to decompose.

In Nepal, an estimated 140 million pads are used annually, adding to a significant menstrual waste load in the country, according to research by Kathmandu-based Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation, or HECAF360.

Anjana Kumal, a 32-year-old employee at Miteri’s facility, said her work had enabled her to speak out against a taboo topic. She even set an example by celebrating her 11-year-old daughter’s first menstruation last year while working at the factory instead of confining her as would have been the case under local tradition.

Miteri provides not just entrepreneurial skills to marginalised communities, but turns women from victims and survivors of menstrual discrimination to community leaders. - Radha Paudel

Menstrual practices are deeply rooted in religion and culture in Nepal, with women referred to as “untouchable” during their monthly cycle. They are barred from entering kitchens, taking part in religious rituals and in extreme cases banished to menstrual huts, where women have been raped or died of snakebites and suffocation.

Nepal criminalised the practice of banishing women to huts in 2017, stipulating a three-month imprisonment or a 3,000 rupees (US$22) fine for violating the law. However, the practice has not been entirely eradicated. In the absence of effective enforcement, schools and teachers are playing a crucial role in raising awareness about the issue.

The Shree Secondary School in Sashinagar, about 15 minutes away from the Miteri factory, has declared itself a “dignified menstruation-friendly” school. The school has a separate toilet for menstruating students, and its walls display poems challenging menstrual discrimination.

Female teachers who once discussed menstruation with girls behind closed classroom doors now openly show how to use pads to both girls and boys. They also educate students on the health and environmental aspects of menstrual products.