'Let’s talk periods': IPL team ties up with sanitary pad company to knock over stigmas

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE team Rajasthan Royals has joined forces with a women’s sanitary products brand to “knock over all stigmas” associated with menstruation.

England's World Cup winning players Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Tom Curran will also join the initiative, announced soon after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi elaborated on the subject during his Independence Day speech on Saturday (15).

Modi had said his government “has been persistently concerned about better healthcare for poor sisters and daughters” as he highlighted efforts to make sanitary pads available at the price of about a penny per piece.

Though India has one of the world’s highest number of girls and women, periods is still considered to be a taboo subject among certain sections of society.

The same day, Rajasthan Royals tweeted: “This Independence Day onwards, let's free ourselves from period stigma once and for all.”

And, in a promotional video, its players said: “It’s time to step out, speak out, to knock over all stigmas… to reach out, to not be ashamed.

“The silence has gone on for too long... let’s talk periods.”

The IPL, which is set to begin on September 19 in the UAE, due to Covid-19 concerns in India, will see Royals players sport the logo of Niine, an Indian brand that makes sanitary products and offers a period-tracker app.

Players will also have “with her, we rise” written on the back of their jerseys, said reports.

"We are delighted to welcome Niine on board, who have been frontrunners in making a change in the way menstruation is perceived in the society," said Rajasthan Royals’ executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur.

"IPL is a fantastic commodity which is loved and watched by millions around the world, we at Rajasthan Royals, through this partnership look to be the drivers of change both on and off the field during the IPL, sending out a resounding message of change on the biggest of stages."

Amar Tulsiyan, the founder of Niine, said he looked forward to a great IPL season, and help “knock out menstrual shackles from the lives of our girls and women”.