Page 135 - Design Thinking C11

Arunachalam Muruganantham, known as Padman,
is a social entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu who transformed
menstrual hygiene in rural India. Disturbed by his wife’s use
of unhygienic rags during her period, he set out to create
low-cost sanitary pads. Facing ridicule and obstacles, he
used empathy and innovation to invent an affordable pad-
making machine. His solution improved women’s health
and created livelihood opportunities. Muruganantham’s
work broke social taboos around menstruation and brought
dignity to thousands of rural women. He was featured in Time
Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People (2014) and received
the Padma Shri in 2016. His story inspired the Bollywood film
“Pad Man” (2018), starring Akshay Kumar.