Exclusive - MUST SEE: He Only Wanted to Help His Wife, But He Helped A Lot of Women Instead! Get to Know India's 'Menstruation Man!'

Most women agree that menstruation does not only mean having to experience pain on a regular basis, it also means having to spend a considerable amount of money on sanitary pads and other things necessary for feminine hygiene. 

But only those who can really afford it are able to keep themselves clean and safe from infections during that time of the month. 

For third world countries, a huge percentage of the female population do not have access to reasonably-priced sanitary pads and other feminine hygiene products. Some women from impoverished areas are forced to use makeshift pads when it's that time of the month. 

In India, some women are forced to use rags. This can be a big problem because rags don't really help as much as sanitary pads or tampons can. When they are used over and over again, a woman's hygiene can suffer too. 

This is something that a man from South India observed after he married his wife. 

Arunachalam Muruganantham comes from a poor background. His family makes their living from handloom weaving. 

One day, Arunachalam realized that rags weren't really working for his wife when she was on her period. He then tried thinking of a way to help her with her period. 

But since they didn't have much money, he had to find a way to make sanitary pads on his own for a fraction of the cost of an imported one. 

His first attempt was not so successful. He used materials that did not help his wife manage the bloodflow at all. 

He conitnued his research and asked female medical students to try his products. However, they seemed to be too shy to give him details after using them. So, he got a better idea; he made a kind of uterus/bladder for himself which he filled with animal blood. This fake uterus was used to test out his homemade sanitary pads. 

But the neighbors did not approve of what he was doing. They even called him a pervert for performing his experiments. His wife could not take the criticism so she had to move to her mother's house. 

However, Arunachalam was determined to help his wife. He realized that he was on to something way bigger than he initially sought out to do. 

It took  him 4 and a half years to develop a machine that could make sanitary pads for a fraction of the cost of other brands. He ended up making a machine that costs US $950. A far cry from the foreign ones that cost up to US $500,000. 

With his determination to help his wife and his background in weaving, Arunachalam was able to develop a machine that could help women from impoverished towns make and sell their own sanitary pads. 

Today, his company has sold 1300 machines to about 27 states in India. 

Watch the video from Al Jazeera here to learn more about the so-called 'Menstruation Man':

What do you think of Arunachalam's invention? Let us know in the comments section and don't forget to share his story!

Source: TNP , Youtube