Arunachalam Muruganantham (born 1962) is a social entrepreneur from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India.He is the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and is credited for innovating grassroots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India. His mini-machines, which can manufacture sanitary pads for less than a third of the cost of commercial pads, have been installed in 23 of the 29 states of India. He is currently planning to expand the production of these machines to 106 nations. In 2014, he was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2016, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. (From Wikipedia)
“The whole idea was not just to make sanitary pads.I wanted to reach out to most part of India so that women start using these pads.Also, I wanted to create jobs for rural women.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“People used to think that I was a pervert and possessed by black magic because I used to conduct research on used sanitary pads. So I left my village and tried to find out how big companies make sanitary pads.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“Nobody was ready to talk to me about the issue, so I wore my own sanitary pad and a uterus made out of a football and goat’s blood. I understand why my mother left me at that time.It might have been horrible for her to find out that her son was studying sanitary pads used by other women.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“I become the man who wore a sanitary pad.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“When I made my first machine,I become aware that it has the potential to change lives of women.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“I strive to solve social issues and work to find solutions.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“No one can predict what you can do.Don’t underestimate yourself.”- Arunachalam Muruganantham
“I can’t wait a month for each feedback, it’ll take two decades.- Arunachalam Muruganantham
“ It all started with my wife.”- Arunachalam Muruganantham
“ The subject of my work menstruation,is a taboo in urban India as well as rural villages.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“My wife gone, my mum gone, ostracized by my village – I was left all alone in life.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“If you go to the Bureau of Indian Standards, you’ll find that with 99% of the product we use in India, the standardization has been given by Europe and America. What a silly thing! I am fighting to change the standardization.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“I am doing research in engineering. Even if I fail 999 times, because all it takes is changing the angle of the blade.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
“I learnt the meaning of these fancy words(social innovator or an entrepreneur) only after working.I was raised by a single mother,my father died early in a road accident.” – Arunachalam Muruganantham
Quote source – motivateme.in
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