A woman who was kicked out of her house during her period, kept out of the sunlight and even forbidden to touch plants, has revealed how she is revolutionizing menstruation.

Ruby Raut, 34, from Nepal, who now lives in London, explained that her life changed forever when she started her period at the age of 12 and had to leave her family.

Fueled by her difficult experiences, Ruby is now the founder of WUKA, a period underwear company that offers an affordable and sustainable alternative to menstrual products like pads, tampons and cups.

“Traditionally, when a girl has her first period, she does not usually stay at home and goes to someone else’s house,” recalled the businesswoman when talking about her past.

‘My mom said, ‘You have to go to your aunt’s house.’ I had two cousins, who were a year younger than me. We were like best friends, so I was really excited to go.’

Fueled by her difficult experiences, Ruby is now the founder of WUKA, a company that makes period underwear.

But she had no idea that the trip to her aunt’s house wouldn’t be the fun experience she was hoping for.

“When I went there, my aunt said, ‘This is your room and this is your bowl and cup. For seven or eight days, you will stay here,'” she revealed.

‘ And I was like, ‘What? I cant go out?’.

Ruby admitted that the first day was “difficult to process” and that the situation became “more difficult as the days went by.”

“I had cousins ​​and I wanted to go play,” he explained. “They kept me out of the sunlight, they forbade me to touch the plants and I couldn’t go to school.

‘Even when it came to food, I was treated differently. Every time the food was passed, it almost felt like it was passed on the floor.

Ruby felt like she was ‘a prisoner of society’.

Ruby said she was given what are known as ‘sari rags’ and her mother told her this would be her menstrual product – thin cloth rags that acted like sanitary napkins that she had to wash during her cycle.

Ruby Raut, 34, from Nepal, who now lives in London, explained that her life changed forever when she started her period at the age of 12 and had to leave her family. Pictured when she was younger

Everything changed for Ruby when she moved to the UK at the age of 20. In the photo now, she is 34 years old.

Ruby was subjected to a form of Chapaudi, a now-illegal practice that saw women and girls ostracized from society when they menstruated, as they were thought to be ‘impure’.

She explained that the tradition was passed down from her grandparents, who did not find it all that traumatic.

“They didn’t have any menstrual products,” she said. They weren’t even wearing underwear.

“Every time they would wear a sari rag, they would wear different layers of clothing, so they would tuck it in and sit somewhere, but the moment they got up and walked, they would leave a trail of blood.

“Then people at his home said, ‘Don’t get blood everywhere, just go and sit somewhere else.'”

‘That was how the whole isolation process happened.’

Ruby also revealed that her grandparents’ days were filled with chores and farm work, so when it was their time of the month, they appreciated having a break.

“The women were basically the people running the house, taking care of six, seven children, raising animals and feeding them,” she said. “It was a bit of a breather for them.”

Ruby was subjected to a form of Chapaudi, a now-illegal practice that saw women and girls ostracized from society when they menstruated, as they were thought to be ‘impure’. Ruby photographed as a little girl

She explained that the tradition was passed down from her grandparents, who did not find it all that traumatic. Ruby in the photo with her family.

Ruby (pictured with her sisters when they were younger) also revealed that her grandparents’ days were filled with chores and farm work, so when it was their time of the month, they appreciated having a break.

But the culture of isolation persisted, even as society developed new approaches and products for menstruation.

“We had a papaya tree in our family’s backyard, and when I was on my period, my mom would say, ‘Oh, don’t go in the papaya, because they won’t ripen,'” she revealed.

“At the age of 12, I just believed it.”

Everything changed for Ruby when she moved to the UK at the age of 20.

I couldn’t believe there was an entire section of the supermarket dedicated to menstruation after growing up in a society where it was so taboo that menstruating women were isolated.

“Another myth I grew up with was that you had to hang your sari rags out of sight,” she said.

“My mother said that people would steal them and do all kinds of black magic, which could make me infertile or prevent me from getting married.”

‘Before I came to the UK, when I lived in India, I tried sanitary napkins, but they were also discreetly sold – they used to wrap them in layers of newspaper and then put them in a plastic bag.

‘When I came here, I decided to try everything.’

Ruby said that while there are benefits to living in a society where no one knows who is on their period, it has also created a culture where people feel uncomfortable discussing periods.

And he found that, in both nations, there seems to be a culture of secrecy surrounding the issue.

Thus, she was inspired to change the universal conversations about periods.

‘People don’t talk about it,’ she said of menstruation in the West, ‘or feel uncomfortable talking about it, so a culture of discretion comes back into play.

‘While living in the UK I studied environmental science and spent a year studying waste, which got me thinking about vintage products here and comparing them to what I had growing up.

‘As a developed country, we are the country that produces the most waste in the world.

“When I started working in sustainability, I shared my story about repurposing sari rags, then the whole issue came out. People don’t talk about the rule here, and they’ve never been educated about the rule, or if they have. had, is one”. 30 minute class.’

Ruby was then driven to create a more environmentally sustainable product that was still easy to use.

Her sari rags served as inspiration. While in the past she had to pin them to her underwear, a process that was obviously awkward, she eventually had an idea to sew them into the lining.

Ruby was driven to create a more environmentally sustainable product that was still easy to use.

“I had previously pinned the sari rags to my underwear, which often didn’t fit properly, and it was a horrible thing to do – the clasp would come loose and I was in agony,” she explained.

“The final solution I had was to wear shorts to keep it in place.”

She bought a second hand sewing machine and started working the sari into the underwear to see if it would work.

“When I tried sewing a sari to the underwear and wore it for the first time, I didn’t feel like I had anything between my legs, unlike when I was wearing sanitary pads,” Ruby revealed.

‘It was great.’

This initial experimentation eventually became WUKA: period-proof pants that have been such a hit with women of all ages, so much so that half a million pairs have already made their way into the world.

When creating the pants, which are available in a variety of sizes, Ruby had her own traumatic first period in mind and said they’re a great way to create a pleasurable period experience for girls from the start.

“They are the best solution for the girls,” she said.

“When you’re starting your period, you can just change into a different underwear and come home and talk to your parents about it.

‘Underwear also makes sleeping through your period much more comfortable.

‘Over the years, I have noticed very little innovation in sanitary napkins and tampons. It’s mostly just wings and strings, and while moon cups are sustainable, they’re not the best option for everyone.

Ruby’s decision to revolutionize menstrual products is also having a positive impact on people’s pockets, with reusable pants starting at £10 a pair, which compared to the monthly cost of sanitary napkins and tampons , represents a great saving over time.

That’s not to mention the testimonials he’s received from people personally affected by WUKA.

“Last month, I received a lovely email from one of our clients saying that for the past 30 years, every time she had her period, it leaked on her sheet,” she shared.

“She’s been using WUKA for the last year and a half, and it hasn’t happened once.”

WUKA, a certified carbon neutral B-corp brand, ultimately championing sustainability and innovation.

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Source: tit.edu.vn