Gujarat’s ‘Padwoman’ gives voice to women’s resilience

Vadodara: For years, Baroda-based Swati Bedekar quietly led a movement that empowered thousands of women across the country to earn a livelihood by producing sanitary napkins. Popularly known as the ‘Padwoman', her work transformed lives at the grassroots. Bedekar has now brought those experiences to print through a book that narrates real-life stories of women who rose above adversity, broke social taboos and built small enterprises of their own.The book, titled "PadGatha", features more than 25 stories of women from different states and varied backgrounds. "I have narrated the difficulties faced by the women and how they overcame the challenges to set up the units and earn their livelihood. Each story has an inspiring message," Bedekar, who runs Vatsalya Foundation, told TOI. Bedekar founded Vatsalya Foundation in the city 26 years ago. The organization initially focused on improving the academic performance of children in rural areas of Gujarat. However, during her visits to remote villages, she noticed poor menstrual hygiene practices among women, largely because sanitary napkins were unaffordable. "I decided to provide them sanitary napkins at low cost. It was a challenge as there were some quality issues," she said. In 2010, Bedekar set up her first Sakhi unit for manufacturing sanitary pads at Devgadh Baria in tribal-dominated Dahod district. Local tribal women were trained to make pads at the unit, enabling them to earn a steady income. The initiative proved successful and within a few years the foundation expanded the manufacturing units across the state. Through ‘PadGatha', Bedekar documents these journeys, highlighting how access to livelihood, dignity and awareness helped women rewrite their own stories.