India is still evolving

In many ways we think of India as an advanced country. Heck, many of us depend on Indians to solve many of our computer problems. We complain when we have trouble understanding them as they help us. But would you believe:

• Only 12% of women across India use sanitary pads.
• Women don't just use old rags as pads, but other unhygienic substances such as sand, sawdust, leaves and even ash.
• Women who do use cloths are often too embarrassed to dry them in the sun, which means they don't get disinfected. Approximately 70% of all reproductive diseases in India are caused by poor menstrual hygiene - it can also affect maternal mortality.
• Women can't visit temples or public places, they're not allowed to cook or touch the water supply - essentially they are considered untouchable. "To speak to rural women, we need permission from the husband or father," one man says. "We can only talk to them through a blanket."
• 23% of girls drop out of education once they start menstruating

Okay, why am I, an American man, talking about sanitary pads? Because of an article on BBC.com which introduced me to Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inventor of a machine that can be used by almost anyone to make cheap sanitary pads. And the machine can be operated by women who thus become self-sufficient economically. He spent many years developing the machine. His wife and mother left, he lost money and had to leave his village because neighbors thought him possessed by evil.